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The ﬁnding that ECog scores did not diﬀer between individuals with probable MCI and normal cognition is not
surprising. MCI exists as a transitional state between normal
cognition and dementia. By deﬁnition, those with MCI lack
signiﬁcant impairment in daily activities attributable to cognitive decline (9). Furthermore, some individuals with normal
MoCA scores may indeed be having signiﬁcant cognitive decline, which would only be quantiﬁed on more detailed neuropsychological testing, leading to further overlap between
these groups. Further work will help clarify the relationship
between milder levels of cognitive decline and daily diﬃculties
as measured by the ECog.
This study has several limitations, including the lack of more
detailed ratings of motor dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction,
and formal clinical diagnoses of dementia and MCI. While the
MoCA is a quick assessment and gross measure of cognition,
it is possible that it may over- or underestimate cognitive dysfunction. For example, the MoCA was observed to overestimate
MCI in PD patients, as a lower number of patients met criteria
when administered a full neuropsychological battery (12). With
this in mind, the MoCA continues to be widely used across
many disciplines in clinical and research samples to determine
the possibility of cognitive dysfunction in PD-related dementia. Future studies could expand on this by more thoroughly
exploring neuropsychological and movement correlates of the
ECog, as well as identifying optimal cutpoints to determine the
diagnostic sensitivity of this measure in clinical practice with
PD and other dementias.
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings July 2017