Mild Cognitive Impairment- Sign of decline in cognitive abilities in an individual

With age, memory tends to lapse. But sharp decline in memory loss is a symptom of mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

People suffering from MCI experience trouble while remembering names and often conversation. They have to rely on written notes to remember their daily activities.

Symptoms

Mild cognitive impairment is classified in two parts-

• Amnestic MCI- Person when starts to forget important information (appointments, conversations, or recent events) suffer from amnestic MCI.
• Non amnestic MCI- Thinking ability of a person when gets affected is said to be suffering from nonamnestic MCI.

Diagnosis

Determining the cause of MCI is yet not possible, but yes, diagnosis is done to make a judgement about person’s symptoms.

A medical checkup of a person suffering from MCI includes-

• Review medical history- This includes reviewing family medical history, previous illness of patient, and physician documents.
• Assessment of daily activities of patient- Focus and judgement is made on changes in patient’s daily activity.
• Assessment of mental status- Evaluation of memory, ability to understand, visual ability, and other key thinking skills is done.
• Neurological examination- Checking functioning of nerves, movement, coordination, balance, and senses.
• Laboratory tests-Preparing patient for blood tests and brain structure imaging.

If all these aforementioned evaluation tests does not work, doctor recommends neuropsychological testing (thinking ability test that comprise of series of written or computerized tests)

Causes and risks

The causes of mild cognitive impairment are still not determined, but person suffering from this problem is at a risk of suffering from Alzheimer's disease or other dementias.

Few possible causes that lead to risk factors of MCI include- advancing age, family history, and cardiovascular disease.

Treatment and outcomes

For the mild cognitive impairment treatment, there are no medications or drugs, which could prevent person from it.

However, still few medical procedures are followed that helps slow decline in thinking skills-

• Exercise regularly helps keep heart fit, which eventually keep the brain active by providing proper blood flow.

• Controlling cardiovascular risk factors eventually benefits brain functioning.
• Participate in activities that require brainstorming. This keep brain active and keep an individual mentally stimulating and social engaged.
• Patient should go for evaluation test after every six months. This helps determine whether the problem has declined, it is same, or it is growing or worsened.