Home / news Clinical diagnostic criteria for dementia associated with Parkinson's disease - ePrints Jessica Hardy Updated on March 26, 2026 Clinical diagnostic criteria for dementia associated with Parkinson's diseaseLookup NU author(s): Dr Dag Aarsland,Professor David Burn,Professor Ian McKeithDownloadsFull text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.AbstractDementia has been increasingly more recognized to be a common feature in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), especially in old age. Specific criteria for the clinical diagnosis of dementia associated with PD (PD-D), however, have been lacking. A Task Force, organized by the Movement Disorder Study, was charged with the development of clinical diagnostic criteria for PD-D. The Task Force members were assigned to sub-committees and performed a systematic review of the literature, based on pre-defined selection criteria, in order to identify the epidemiological, clinical, auxiliary, and pathological features of PD-D. Clinical diagnostic criteria were then developed based on these findings and group consensus. The incidence of dementia in PD is increased up to six times, point-prevelance is close to 30%, older age and akinetic-rigid form are associated with higher risk. PD-D is characterized by impairment in attention, memory, executive and visuo-spatial functions, behavioral symptoms such as affective changes, hallucinations, and apathy are frequent. There are no specific ancillary investigations for the diagnosis; the main pathological correlate is Lewy body-type degeneration in cerebral cortex and limbic structures. Based on the characteristic features associated with this condition, clinical diagnostic criteria for probable and possible PD-D are proposed. © 2007 Movement Disorder Society.Publication metadataAuthor(s): Emre M, Aarsland D, Brown R, Burn DJ, Duyckaerts C, Mizuno Y, Broe GA, Cummings J, Dickson DW, Gauthier S, Goldman J, Goetz C, Korczyn A, Lees A, Levy R, Litvan I, McKeith I, Olanow W, Poewe W, Quinn N, Sampaio C, Tolosa E, Dubois BPublication type: ReviewPublication status: PublishedJournal: Movement DisordersYear: 2007Volume: 22Issue: 12Pages: 1689-1707Print publication date: 15/09/2007ISSN (print): 0885-3185ISSN (electronic): 1531-8257 URL: DOI: 10.1002/mds.21507PubMed id: 17542011Share