PARKINSONS DEMENTIA AND ALZHEIMERS DEMENTIA - AN EVOKED-POTENTIAL COMPARISON

Auditory endogenous event-related potentials (ERPs) and flash visual e voked potentials (VEPs) were recorded in 26 elderly patients with idio pathic Parkinson's disease (PD), 14 with dementia and 12 non-demented, 16 elderly patients with Alzheimer dementia (AD) and 15 cognitively i ntact controls. ERP P3 and flash-VEP N2, P2 and DELTA(P2-P1) latency m easures were significantly increased in the demented PD group compared with controls. The ERP P3 latency was also significantly delayed in t he AD group compared with controls, but the differences in the flash-V EP measures from controls were not significant. No significant differe nces were noted between the PD groups, except for a significantly shor ter flash-VEP N1 latency in the demented PD group; this was also the o nly significant evoked potential difference between the AD and PD deme ntia groups, which were otherwise electrophysiologically similar.