Detection of mild cognitive deficits in Parkinson's disease patients with the WAIS-R NI

The relative insensitivity of traditional IQ tests to mild cognitive defici ts has led investigators to develop a version of the widely used Wechsler i ntelligence scales that allows quantitative analysis of underlying qualitat ive responses. This instrument, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revis ed as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-R NI) was administered to 16 Pa rkinson's disease (PD) patients and 30 normal controls (NC). The 2 groups d id not differ significantly in mean age or education. or on their mean Matt is Dementia Rating Scale score. Relative to NC participants, PD patients sh owed decreased visual attention span, longer response latencies, slower vis uomotor processing, and more stimulus-bound errors. Many of the WAIS-R NI m easures were able to detect cognitive impairment in a greater percentage of patients than the traditional WAIS-R measures, making it easier to identif y deficits that could affect quality of life early in the course of the dis ease.