Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2007

Mentor: Dr. Richard Dewey
Department: Neurology
Room number: J3.134
Mail Code: MC 9036
Phone number: 214-648-2943
E-mail: richard.dewey@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: An assessment of risk factors for ultimate development of dementia in Parkinson disease

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): 042007-038

Project Type patient-based research

Brief Description of Project: The purpose of this study is to determine if discrete clinical features present at Parkinson disease presentation are correlated with the later development of dementia.

The study consists of two phases. The first phase has been completed and involved identifying patients seen at the Clinical Center for Movement Disorders with a primary diagnosis of PD who were referred for neuropsych testing at UT Southwestern. By analyzing neuropsych data, this group of patients has been divided into two groups; those who meet criteria for dementia and those who do not.

The second phase of the project will consist of a review of clinical documentation on these groups of patients which will be done primarly by the summer medical student. The student will review charts for documentation of site of initial involvement of PD symptoms (right side or left side) as well as the type of initial PD symptoms (tremor vs. bradykinesia-rigidity). After this data is collected it will be analyzed to determine if there is a correlation between site of onset and type of initial symptoms with the later development of dementia. The student will be involved in this data analysis as well as in drafting the publication to result from this work.