Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2014 Jun;29(4):293-302.
doi: 10.1177/1533317513517040. Epub 2013 Dec 26.

Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Brief Review and Suggested Clinical Algorithm

Sayantani Ghosh  1 , David Libon  2 , Carol Lippa  2
Affiliations
Review

Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Brief Review and Suggested Clinical Algorithm

Sayantani Ghosh et al. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2014 Jun.

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a dynamic state between normal cognition and dementia, where interventions can be taken to stop or delay the progression to dementia. It is broadly of 2 types-amnestic, where memory loss is the chief concern and nonamnestic, where it is not. One variant of nonamnestic, dysexecutive, being more prevalent is sometimes known as a separate subtype by itself. Diagnosis of MCI is mostly clinical and is aided by various scales and neuropsychological testing. Functional imaging studies help in early detection and is superior to biomarkers or structural magnetic resonance imaging. Although there is no evidence supporting any pharmacological intervention, cognitive rehabilitation, memory training, and caregiver support play a strong role in limiting and sometimes reversing the ongoing cognitive decline. As the spectrum of MCI is heterogeneous, making the right diagnosis can be a challenging; hence, we need a systematic yet cost-effective algorithm for the timely management of MCI.

Keywords: amnestic; dysexecutive; functional imaging; mild cognitive impairment; neuropsychological testing; nonamnestic.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Proposed algorithm for diagnosis and management of a patient with suspected mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kral VA. Senescent forgetfulness: benign and malignant. Can Med Assoc J. 1962;86(6):257–260. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Crook T, Bartus RT, Ferris SH, Whitehouse P, Cohen GD, Gershon S. Age associated memory impairment: proposed diagnostic criteria and measures of clinical change-report of a national institute of mental health work group. Dev Neuropsychol.1986;2(4):261–276.
    1. Levy R. Aging-associated cognitive decline. Int Psychogeriatr. 1994;6(1):63–68. - PubMed
    1. Graham JE, Rockwood K, Beattie BL, et al. Prevalence and severity of cognitive impairment with and without dementia in an elderly population. Lancet. 1997;349(9068):1793–1796. - PubMed
    1. Reisberg B, Ferris S, de Leon MJ. Stage-specific behavioral, cognitive, and in vivo changes in community residing subjects with age-associated memory impairment and primary degenerative dementia of the Alzheimer type. Drug Dev Res. 1988;15(2-3):101–114.

MeSH terms