What is Mild Cognitive Impairment? Five Ways MCI Differs From Alzheimer's Disease

While most people are quite familiar with Alzheimer’s disease, the disorder most commonly affecting the mental functioning of the elderly, there is considerably less public awareness of Mild Cognitive Impairment or MCI.

If you are like most people, you might wonder “what is Mild Cognitive Impairment? I’ve never even heard of this disorder.”

MCI indicates that the individual has impaired memory; however, there is preservation of the ability to function at high levels on daily activities. Furthermore, MCI is frequently accompanied by disorders such as anxiety or depression. MCI progresses into Alzheimer’s disease at a rate of 12-15% a year if no preventative measures are taken.

There are two types of Mild Cognitive Impairment:

1) Amnestic MCI, which significantly affects memory.

2) Nonamnestic MCI, which affects mental functions such as language and attention span, while leaving memory largely intact.

Amnestic MCI is much more likely to develop into Alzheimer’s disease than nonamnestic MCI. However, currently it is not possible to accurately predict who will progress from Alzheimer’s to MCI.

Symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment

The following criteria generally need to be present for a doctor to diagnose a patient as having Mild Cognitive Impairment:

1) Some degree of memory impairment – this generally manifests itself as problems remembering the names of people you recently met, trouble remembering the flow of a conversation, and an increased tendency to misplace things.

In most cases, MCI patients can compensate for these deficits with an increased reliance on memory tools such as notes and calendars.

2) Poor performance on memory tests.

3) Some form of other neurological difficulties, such as language, motor skills, or sensation.

4) Normal functioning in daily activities. This last point is very important. Whereas Alzheimer’s patients need assistance to properly carry out normal daily activities, MCI patients do not.

5 Ways MCI Differs from Alzheimer’s Disease

Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D., President and Medical Director of the non-profit Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation, offers five differences between Mild Cognitive Impairment and the more severe disorder, Alzheimer’s disease:

1. MCI patients exhibit relatively normal general cognitive functioning (thinking, understanding, and decision-making). Alzheimer’s patients show significant impairment in these cognitive functions.

2. MCI patients can carry out nearly all normal activities of daily living. Alzheimer’s patients show significant impairment in normal activities of daily living.

3. MCI patients exhibit little or no personality change. Alzheimer’s patients generally exhibit strong evidence of personality changes.

4. MCI patients show evidence of memory impairment, but maintain judgment abilities. Alzheimer’s patients show evidence of both memory and judgment impairment.

5. MCI patients do not demonstrate symptoms severe enough to be categorized as dementia. Alzheimer’s patients suffer from dementia due to decreased mental functioning.

So now you can see what Mild Cognitive Impairment is — and how it differs from Alzheimer’s.

It is important to see your doctor immediately if you or your loved one exhibit symptoms indicative of Mild Cognitive Impairment. MCI is frequently a precursor to the more debilitating Alzheimer’s disease.

And as with Alzheimer’s, the best way to slow the progression of MCI is to catch it in its early stages.