Mild Cognitive Impairment

Signs and Symptoms

Cognitive function includes abilities such as critical thinking, reading, speaking and writing. Patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) retain these important cognitive skills, necessary to manage their everyday activities, but have difficulty remembering recent events or recently acquired information. Long-term memories tend to remain in tact. In many cases, patients with MCI are quite aware of the short-term memory loss and compensate with heavy reliance on notes and calendars.

Until recently, doctors didn't associate significance to these complaints. In the past several years, researchers have found possible links between MCI and the future development of dementia. Some researchers believe that in some cases, mild cognitive impairment is a transitional condition leading to other diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.

Diagnosis

There is no established approach for evaluating individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, patients undergo a thorough evaluation of their complaints, including a medical history, neurological exam and at least a brief neuropsychological evaluation. The medical history usually requires the participation of a knowledgeable, close friend or relative, such as a spouse or child.

Depending on the results of this evaluation, further testing may be necessary, including blood tests and brain imaging. This second level of testing is similar to that given to individuals with more severe memory problems and is directed towards better defining the problem and looking for medical conditions that might have an effect on the brain such as infections, nutritional deficiencies, autoimmune disorders and possible side effects from medication.

An important part of this process is screening for depression since memory loss can be a symptom of anxiety and depression.

As a result of these tests, other causes of memory impairment may be discovered such as vitamin deficiency or thyroid disease, which can be treated.

Treatment

Currently, there is no specific treatment for MCI. Studies are in progress to investigate treatments used for Alzheimer's disease, such as cholinesterase inhibitors and vitamin E, to prevent cognitive deterioration in patients with MCI.

In the future, new treatments being developed for Alzheimer's disease may be tested on patients with MCI as well.