My father is 74. He has been having episodes where he doesnt know what day it is or if he has eaten or showered that day. He was recently diagnosed with Parkinson s disease with a chance of dementia. They did an MRI on Monday. It says Minimal Involutional Changes Appear Chronic. He is also very moody and saying hateful and hurtful things. He has always been difficult to deal with but he is getting really bad. My first thought was Alzheimer s. Any suggestions?
Hi, Regarding your concern, I would explain that his symptoms seem to be related to depression. From the other hand cognitive changes are common complications during Parkinson disease. They are related to the degradation of the brain cells, related to the disease itself. Besides, mood changes can also be related to Parkinson therapy. Anyway, I would recommend consulting with his neurologist and performing some cognitive tests in order to determine properly his cognitive problems. A psychiatric evaluation is also necessary to exclude possible depression, which can interfere with his memory and attention. There are different treatment options which can help improve his mood changes and his memory. Hope to have been helpful. Let me know if I can assist you further. Kind regards,