Yilmaz R, Behnke S, Liepelt-Scarfone I, Roeben B, Pausch C, Runkel A, Heinzel S, Niebler R, Suenkel U, Eschweiler G W, Maetzler W, Berg D
Department of Neurodegeneration, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research (HIH), University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Department of Neurology, University of Homburg/Saar, Homburg, Germany.
Eur J Neurol. 2016 May;23(5):973-8. doi: 10.1111/ene.12974. Epub 2016 Feb 24.
Deficits in cognition have been reported in Parkinson's disease (PD) already in the early and even in the pre-motor stages. Whilst substantia nigra hyperechogenicity measured by transcranial B-mode sonography (TCS) represents a strong PD marker and is associated with an increased risk for PD in still healthy individuals, its association with cognitive performance in prodromal PD stages is not well established.
Two different cohorts of healthy elderly individuals were assessed by TCS and two different neuropsychological test batteries covering executive functions, verbal memory, language, visuo-constructional function and attention. Cognitive performance was compared between individuals with hyperechogenicity (SN+) and without hyperechogenicity (SN-).
In both cohorts, SN+ individuals performed significantly worse than the SN- group in tests assessing verbal memory (word list delayed recall P = 0.05, logical memory II P < 0.017). Significant differences in Mini-Mental State Examination score (cohort 1, P = 0.02) and executive function tests (cohort 2, Stroop Color-Word Reading, P = 0.004) could only be shown in one of the two cohorts. No between-group effects were found in other cognitive tests and domains.
These results indicate that individuals with the PD risk marker SN+ perform worse in verbal memory compared to SN- independent of the assessment battery. Memory performance should be assessed in detail in individuals at risk for PD.
帕金森病（PD）患者在疾病早期甚至运动前期就已出现认知功能缺陷。经颅B型超声检查（TCS）测量的黑质回声增强是PD的一个重要标志，且与健康个体患PD的风险增加相关，但其与前驱期PD认知功能的关系尚未明确。
通过TCS对两组不同的健康老年人进行评估，并使用两套不同的神经心理学测试组合，涵盖执行功能、言语记忆、语言、视觉构建功能和注意力。比较有回声增强（SN+）和无回声增强（SN-）个体的认知表现。
在两个队列中，SN+个体在评估言语记忆的测试（单词列表延迟回忆P = 0.05，逻辑记忆II P < 0.017）中表现明显比SN-组差。简易精神状态检查表得分（队列1，P = 0.02）和执行功能测试（队列2，Stroop颜色-单词阅读，P = 0.004）的显著差异仅在两个队列中的一个中显示。在其他认知测试和领域未发现组间效应。
这些结果表明，具有PD风险标志物SN+的个体在言语记忆方面比SN-个体表现更差，与评估组合无关。对于有PD风险的个体，应详细评估其记忆表现。
