Not something anyone wants to hear but a truth nonetheless. Our brains are the working center of our being and Parkinson’s sits firmly in the brain, so how could it not impact cognitive abilities? This topic came up recently in one of the Davis Phinney monthly CarePartner Meetups. The conversation was that cognitive decline happens to all of us as we age. The added challenges of living with Parkinson’s should make it evident that brain functioning is going to be slower and more demanding. The general consensus among the CarePartners and the Neuropsychologist on the panel was that most People with PD will face some form of cognitive decline during their journey. For my husband it is proving to be mild so far.

Where do these cognitive challenges originate? Is it simply that he needs to focus so intently on everything he does that he becomes exhausted and has no energy left? Or, is his executive functioning actually impaired due to the disease or the meds he is taking? Does it really matter which, or is it simply enough to recognize that this is another component of his diagnosis and work through it whatever that means?

There is a great article on cognitive decline written by Jennifer G. Goldman, MD, MS, Assistant Professor, Parkinson Disease and Movement Disorders at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago that I found on the American Parkinson’s Disease website. She explains the different types of cognitive decline I might see in my husband and talks about testing that should be done along the way. I question her comment that not all people with PD will face cognitive decline, I think she’s either mistaken or is defining this symptom differently than I do. My already overtaxed husband’s body and brain are being constantly asked to multi-task just to survive, it seems inevitable to me that things are going to decline. Just another gift from this disease that seems to keep on giving. Or maybe I should say taking away?

Information on the monthly Davis Phinney CarePartner Meetup can be found on their website at Care Partner Resources and for more on Cognitive changes and Parkinson’s, visit  Cognitive Changes on the APDA website.