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Review
. 2007 Aug;25(3):577-609, v.
doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2007.03.008.

Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Brendan J Kelley  1 , Ronald C Petersen
Affiliations
Review

Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Brendan J Kelley et al. Neurol Clin. 2007 Aug.

Abstract

As our society ages, age-related diseases assume increasing prominence as both personal and public health concerns. Disorders of cognition are particularly important in both regards, and Alzheimer's disease is by far the most common cause of dementia of aging. In 2000, the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in the United States was estimated to be 4.5 million individuals, and this number has been projected to increase to 14 million by 2050. Although not an inevitable consequence of aging, these numbers speak to the dramatic scope of its impact. This article focuses on Alzheimer's disease and the milder degrees of cognitive impairment that may precede the clinical diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's disease, such as mild cognitive impairment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Theoretical progression of cognitive function from normal through mild cognitive impairment to probable and definite Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in persons destined to develop AD. Reprinted with permission from Saunders .
Figure 2
Figure 2
Flow diagram for diagnosing MCI. The cardinal feature is cognitive impairment intermediate between the cognitive changes of normal aging and those of early dementia. Subtyping of MCI is first made along the dimension of memory into amnestic and non-amnestic. These subtypes are further classified into single cognitive domain or multiple cognitive domains. See text for explanation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The four clinical subtypes of MCI are then combined with the presumed etiology of the clinical syndrome. For example, amnestic MCI of single or multiple domain subtypes can be combined with the presumed degenerative etiology to result in the likely outcome of Alzheimer’s disease when the condition progresses to dementia. The other suggested clinical outcomes are theoretical and other outcomes may be possible.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cognitive profile of persons with a mild cognitive impairment. The top two panels, Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) and Full Scale IQ represent measures of general intellectual function. The bottom two panels represent memory function for verbal memory (Logical Memory II) and non-verbal memory (Visual Reproductions II). Reprinted with permission from the American Medical Association .
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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