Mild cognitive impairment or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is the stage between mild cognitive decline consistent with normal aging and more serious decline in dementia (senility). This condition is characterized by problems with memory function, language, thinking or judgment (executive function) and spatial perception (visuospatial).
If you have mild cognitive impairment, you may notice that your memory or mental function has slipped. Your family and close friends may also notice a change. But these changes are not severe enough to significantly interfere with your daily life and usual activities.
Mild cognitive impairment can increase your risk of developing dementia later in life caused by Alzheimer's disease, impaired blood circulation in the brain or other neurological conditions. However, some people with mild cognitive impairment do not all get worse, there are some who eventually get better, if their risk factors are managed properly.
Symptoms:
The brain, like the rest of the body, changes with age. Many people notice a gradual increase in forgetfulness with age. Some take longer to think of a word or remember someone's name.
But persistent or increasing worry about mental performance may indicate mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
Cognitive problems can go beyond what is expected and indicate possible MCI if you experience any or all of the following:
- More often forget something.
- Forgetting important events like appointments or social gatherings.
- Losing the train of thought or flow in conversations, reading books, or watching movies.
- Feeling increasingly overwhelmed with making decisions, planning steps to complete tasks or understanding instructions.
- Start having trouble finding your way around familiar surroundings.
- Becoming more impulsive or showing increasingly poor judgment.
- Family and friends notice one of these changes.
If you have MCI, you may also experience:
- Depression
- Irritability and aggression
- Worry
- Apathetic
Brain shrinkage
There is no single cause of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), just as there is no single outcome for the disorder. MCI symptoms may remain stable for years, or progress to dementia of Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, or improve over time.
Current evidence suggests that MCI often occurs, but does not always develop from a lesser degree of the same types of brain changes seen in Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia.
Some of these changes have been identified in autopsy studies of people with MCI. These changes include:
- Microscopically abnormal clumps of beta-amyloid protein (plaque) and tau protein clumps that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease.
- Lewy bodies, which are microscopic clumps of other proteins linked to Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and in some cases Alzheimer's disease.
- Mild stroke or reduced blood flow through the blood vessels of the brain (silent stroke)
Brain imaging studies suggest that the following changes may be associated with MCI:
- Shrinkage of the hippocampus, a brain region important for memory
- Enlargement of the fluid-filled chambers of the brain (ventricles)
- Changes in the white matter of the brain will appear super bright white (the doctor may call it "hyperintense") on an MRI, etc.
risk factor
The strongest risk factors for MCI are:
- Getting older
Medical conditions and other lifestyle factors have been associated with an increased risk of cognitive changes, including:
- Diabetes
- Smoke
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Obesity
- Depression
- Lack of physical exercise
- Low education level
- Rarely participates in mentally or socially stimulating activities
Prevention
Mild cognitive impairment cannot always be prevented. But research has found several environmental factors that can influence the risk of developing the condition. Studies show that these steps can help prevent cognitive impairment:
- Avoid excessive alcohol use.
- Limit exposure to air pollution.
- Reduce the risk of head injury.
- Do not smoke.
- Manage health conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and depression.
- Practice good sleep hygiene and manage sleep disturbances.
- Eat a nutrient-rich diet that has lots of fruits and vegetables and is low in saturated fat.
- Engage socially with others.
- Exercise regularly at moderate to vigorous intensity.
- Wear hearing aids if you have hearing loss.
- Stimulates the mind with crossword puzzles, games and memory training.
Article written by dr. Silvia F. Lumempouw Sp.S (K), FAAN (Neurologist Specialist Neurobehavior Consultant at EMC Pulomas Hospital).