Heart Rate Variability and Mild Cognitive Impairment in Parkinson's Disease

TERROBA CHAMBI, CINTHIA; MERELLO, MARCELO; VIGO, DANIEL E.; ABULAFIA, CAROLINA

MOVEMENT DISORDERS

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Año: 2020 vol. 35 p. 2354 - 2355

0885-3185

To evaluate the association between heart rate variability (HRV) and cognitive impairment in Parkinson?s disease (PD) patients. Background: Emerging evidence suggests an association between cognitive impairment and autonomic dysfunction in PD. However, there is a lack of information about the relationship between HRV and changes in cognition in this population. Methods: Twenty consecutive PD patients without dementia enrolled in a study of Fear of Falling and Falls were assessed using short-term HRV and blood pressure measures in resting (RS) and standing states (SS). Time-frequency domains and nonlinear parameters were calculated. MoCA and FAB screening tests were administered to determine cognitive status. Results: Thirteen subjects presented mild cognitive impairment due to PD (MCI) while seven patients were cognitively normal (non-MCI). No significant differences between groups were observed in demographic or clinical variables. MCI subjects exhibited reduced performance in cognitive screening tests. The MCI group showed significantly lower RMSSD than the non-MCI group in RS. No significant differences were found between groups with or without orthostatic hypotension (OH) and MCI. Conclusions: Reduced HRV reflecting lower parasympathetic activity independently of OH was associated with MCI in this cohort. The study of the relationship between HRV and cognitive performance provides important insights regarding the interaction of cognitive and autonomic processes. The role of short-term HRV as a predictive biomarker in PD should be explored in future larger studies.