Mild Cognitive Impairment

The concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as an intermediate state between normal cognition and dementia is a worthwhile construct in understanding functional decline in an ageing population. MCI is a relatively precise clinical diagnosis and a useful research tool. Individuals with MCI have (a) a subjective cognitive complaint that is usually corroborated by an informant, (b) preserved general cognitive functioning, (c) impairment in one or more of the cognitive domains (memory, attention-executive function, visuospatial skills and/or language) and (d) essentially normal activities of daily living. A number of aetiologies can be associated with MCI, including degenerative and vascular processes, psychiatric causes and comorbid medical conditions. The ultimate goal is to use this construct as a tool in developing treatments that will potentially prevent or delay the progression of dementia. Research is ongoing to determine factors that may predict this progression, with more recent studies combining data on clinical, genetic, neuroimaging and surrogate biomarkers.