Cognitive effects of unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy: a 4-year follow-up study.

Full Abstract

We assessed the long-term neuropsychological effects of unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy in Parkinson's disease. Eleven Parkinson's disease patients, from an original cohort of 15 consecutive patients who underwent pallidotomy, were evaluated. A neuropsychological battery was administered to each patient before (3 days) and after (3 months and 4 years) surgery during the effects of levodopa. The following tests were administered:
Rey's Auditory-Verbal Learning Test, Visual Associative Learning test from the Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised, Luria's motor alternation, Benton's Judgment of Line Orientation, Trail Making, phonetic verbal fluency, Stroop test, Petrides' working memory tasks, Beck's depression questionnaire and the Maudsley obsessional-compulsive inventory. In the 3-month postoperative assessment, there was a significant worsening in phonetic verbal fluency and an improvement in Benton's Judgment of Line Orientation test. In the 4-year follow-up assessment, phonetic verbal fluency and Benton's Judgment of Line Orientation test returned to baseline scores. Although there was no significant difference between pre- and postsurgical scores for long-term visual associative memory, there was a significant deterioration between 3-month and 4-year follow-up performances. Our results suggest that unilateral posteroventral pallidotomy may produce transient changes in prefrontal and visuospatial functions, but there is no evidence of permanent neuropsychological effects.

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Author information

Author/s: Alegret, Montse (M); Valldeoriola, Francesc (F); Tolosa, Eduardo (E); Vendrell, Pere (P); Junqué, Carme (C); Martínez, José (J); Rumià, Jordi (J);

Affiliation: Parkinson's and Movement Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clinic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Villaroel 170, 08036 Barcelona, Spain. malagret(-atsign-)teleline.es

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article

Journal: Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society (Mov Disord), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2003-Mar; vol 18 (issue 3) : pp 323-8

Dates: Created 2003/03/06; Completed 2003/06/17; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 12621637, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Aged
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Frontal Lobe - physiopathology
Globus Pallidus - physiopathology; surgery
Humans

Male
Middle Aged
Neuropsychological Tests
Parkinson Disease - physiopathology; psychology; surgery
Task Performance and Analysis
Time Factors

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