Authors: Sinoff Gary.
Over the last twenty years, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has come to the forefront of research because of the conversion rate of 10-15% annually to dementia, usually Alzheimer type, and with 40% conversion within 3-4 years. The need exists to treat dementia, especially Alzheimer's type, early on which may delay the progression of conversion and providing financial savings on a societal macro-level but also individual micro-level. Accordingly the diagnosis of MCI as the pre-dementia state is of the utmost importance. However not all MCI cases will convert, so there exists the prerequisite of finding the predictors for detecting the converters. The direction of research varies from neuroimaging, biochemical markers in blood and/or CSF, or clinical neuropsychological markers.
This article will provide the history of defining the concept of MCI and an approach to the diagnosis, treatment, both pharmacological and non-pharmacological.
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