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Parkinson's Disease (PD) is classified as a motor disorder, but most patients develop cognitive impairment, and eventual dementia (PDD). Predictive neurobiomarkers may be useful in the identification of those patients at imminent risk of PDD. Given the compromised cerebral integrity in PDD, we investigated whether brain metabolites track disease progression over time.

Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) was used to identify brain metabolic changes associated with cognitive impairment and dementia in PD. Forty-nine healthy participants and 130 PD patients underwent serial single voxel proton MRS and neuropsychological testing. At baseline patients were classified as either having normal cognitive status (PDN, n = 77), mild cognitive impairment (PDMCI, n = 33), or dementia (PDD, n = 20). Posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was examined to quantify N-acetylaspartate (NAA …