Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Review of Concepts
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37387/ipc.v5i2.70Keywords:
Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, Neuropsychological, neuropsychological manifestations, biomarker evaluation, Enfermedad de Alzheimer, deterioro cognitivo leve, evaluación neuropsicológica, manifestaciones neuropsicológicas, biomarcadoresAbstract
Alzheimer´s Disease (AD) is a neurological degenerative condition that affects over 46 million people around the world. It is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly and is characterized by a major memory impairment affecting a person’s ability to perform everyday activities. AD impacts the person, their family/caregiver and society causing a great burden on health, social and economic systems. In recent years, early detection of AD has become the main focus in aging research. Diagnosing AD in its prodromal stage, where brain pathology is present but dementia still has not appeared, is key to improving intervention mechanisms and to delay the expression of symptoms.
As a result, it is crucial to study Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), the symptomatic pre-dementia phase. Defining MCI´s clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria and its relation with AD is critical to the development of methods that aid in identifying individuals who are at risk of developing dementia. The study of cognitive impairment and biomarkers allows early and differential diagnosis of AD. Neuropsychological evaluation is essential to determine different cognitive profiles and to assess the progression of MCI to AD. Impairment in episodic memory, the first neuropsychological symptom of amnestic MCI, deteriorates severely if the person develops AD, affecting long term memory. Other cognitive functions such as attention, language, visuospatial abilities, reasoning and mental flexibility can be affected in MCI and deteriorate even further in AD interfering with the person´s independence and functional integrity.
Likewise, the study of biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), neuroimaging and blood biomarkers has permitted the identification of neuropathological signs of the disease. Together with neuropsychological assessment, biomarkers constitute the most effective diagnostic approach for early detection of AD.
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