What are the boundary zones between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD)? Are many elderly people whom we regard as normal actually in the early stages of AD? Alzheimer's disease does not develop overnight; the early phases may last for years or even decades. Recently, clinical investigators have identified a transitional condition between normal aging and and very early Alzheimer's disease that they have called mild cognitive impairment, or MCI. This term typically refers to memory impairment beyond what one would expect in individuals of a given age whose other abilities to function in daily life are well preserved. Persons who meet the criteria for mild cognitive impairment have an increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease in the near future. Though many questions about this condition and its underlying neuropathology remain open, full clinical trials are currently underway worldwide aimed at preventing the progression from MCI to Alzheimer's disease. This book addresses the spectrum of issues involved in mild cognitive impairment, and includes chapters on clinical studies, neuropsychology, neuroimaging, neuropathology, biological markers, diagnostic approaches, and treatment. It is intended for clinicians, researchers, and students interested in aging and cognition, among them neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, clinical psychologists, and neuropsychologists.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) has been identified as an important clinical transition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Since treatments for AD are most likely to be most effective early in the course of the disease, MCI has become a topic of great importance and has been investigated in different populations of interest in many countries. This book brings together these differing perspectives on MCI for the first time. This volume provides a comprehensive resource for clinicians, researchers, and students involved in the study, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with MCI. Clinical investigators initially defined mild cognitive impairment (MCI) as a transitional condition between normal aging and the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Because the prevalence of AD increases with age and very large numbers of older adults are affected worldwide, these clinicians saw a pressing need to identify AD as early as possible. It is at this very early stage in the disease course that treatments to slow the progress and control symptoms are likely to be most effective. Since the first introduction of MCI, research interest has grown exponentially, and the utility of the concept has been investigated from a variety of perspectives in different populations of interest (e.g., clinical samples, volunteers, population-based screening) in many different countries. Much variability in findings has resulted. Although it has been acknowledged that the differences observed between samples may be ‘legitimate variations’, there has been no attempt to understand what it is we have learned about MCI (i.e., common features and differences) from each of these perspectives. This book brings together information about MCI in different populations from around the world. Mild Cognitive Impairment will be an important resource for any clinician, researcher, or student involved in the study, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation of people with MCI.

"As you have grown older, you may have noticed changes in your memory. You might find yourself walking into a room and forgetting why you are there. It might be more difficult to remember the name of someone you just met. You may also notice that it takes longer to come up with words in conversation"--

This issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine features expert clinical reviews on Mild Cognitive Impairment which includes current information on topics such as Overview of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Aging and Cognition, Classification and Epidemiology of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Neuropsychiatric Symptoms of Mild Cognitive Impairment, Clinical Evaluation of Early Cognitive Symptoms, Emerging Biomarkers Relating to Cognition, Imaging Modalities in Evaluation of Cognition, Current Management Decisions in Mild Cognitive Impairment, Risk Factors for Progression to Dementia, Dealing with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Help for Patients and Caregivers.

This book reviews the neuropsychology of common and a few rare neurodegenerative conditions. The mild cognitive impairment prodrome of each condition is highlighted. Chapters include an autopsy-confirmed case presentation from the authors' files, current diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, neuropathology/neurophysiology, genetics, neuroimaging, associated clinical features, differential neuropsychological features and possible interventions.

As the aging population degree is deepened, cognitive impairment has become a globally recognized public health problem. As an intermediate state from normal cognition (NC) to Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has a highly variable cognitive trajectory, which contains three outcomes: 1) progression to AD and other types of dementia; 2) Maintaining stability; 3) Reversal to NC. Reversal of cognitive function can be achieved by taking positive and effective measures. Current studies mostly focus on factors affecting MCI to AD. World Health Organization and Alzheimer’s Disease International have also proposed relatively mature guidelines for risk factors. However, there are still some influencing factors that have not yet formed a unified conclusion. In addition, there are fewer studies and no consensus on the influencing factors for MCI to NC. Current forms of intervention for MCI are mainly non-pharmacological interventions, and there is a lack of randomized controlled trials with larger sample sizes and longer intervention periods to confirm the effect of pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions. The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence the transition from MCI to AD or NC in aging adults, and to examine how the influencing factors make the cognitive function of aging adults with MCI deteriorate, improve or even reverse to NC and how are their reversal rates. This includes effective measures proven through pharmacological and non-pharmacological intervention studies and their impact on reversal. Influence factors include but are not limited to demographic factors (age, socioeconomic status, education), lifestyle (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, nutrition, social participation), mental health (depression, loneliness), diseases (hypertension, diabetes, sleep disorders), biological markers (ß-amyloid, tau protein), and pharmacological factors (cholinesterase inhibitor, Aß monoclonal antibodies, drugs to rebalance the gut flora), etc., and submission of research results based on intervention trials is encouraged.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) are commonly viewed as the first and second most common types of dementia, respectively. The traditional paradigm has been to view and treat each illness as a separate entity with a separate pathophysiology. However, clinical and pathological studies suggest that the boundary separating AD and VaD, as well as their mild cognitive impairment (MCI) analogs, is not well defined. Thus, there is increased interest in viewing these diseases along a spectrum because of the significant overlap in the characterization and diagnosis of AD, VaD, and MCI. The focus of this edited volume is to examine how AD and VaD, as well as their MCI analogs, are best viewed as a heterogeneous, intersecting, if not a continuous disease state rather than separate, distinct entities. This book examines this approach by providing empirically based evidence, reviews of the literature, and chapters by key leaders in the field and will be of interest to clinical neuropsychologists and anyone studying or treating dementia in its many forms.

Cognition, information processing activities for individuals to understand the objective world, reflects the real world in the human brain. Cognitive impairment refers to a decline in cognitive functioning of varying degrees, from subjective cognitive impairment to severe dementia. With the accelerated global population aging, the number of people with cognitive impairment is increasing rapidly. Dementia has become a major contributor to the global burden of disease and loss of disability-adjusted life years. Cognitive impairment is a heterogeneous syndrome, the cause of which is still myriad. Although significant advancement in the understanding of the pathology of cognitive impairment has been made in recent decades, the tools and strategies at our disposal to deal with cognitive impairment are still very limited. Currently, no disease-modified treatment has been identified. Interdisciplinary research refers to the methodology of comprehensive understanding or problem-solving through the intersection between natural science and social science and other disciplines, or the internal intersection between many disciplines within a certain category of science. It is conducive to the overall understanding of problems and identifying effective solutions to complex problems faced by human society. In recent years, studies in many fields other than neurology have inspired our understanding of cognitive impairment, putting forward new insights into its phenomenology, and providing many effective prevention or alleviation strategies to delay cognitive decline or manage the symptoms. It is very likely that interdisciplinary research would shed a light on our efforts to cope with the challenges brought by the growing epidemic of cognitive impairment.

Written by leading authorities in the field, this book describes the cognitive changes associated with age, the earliest detectable stages of Alzheimer’s, and the relationship of these conditions to MCI. The authors review the latest advances in our understanding of MCI, its prevalence, evaluation, management, and outcomes and in so doing provide practising physicians with a useful resource that assists them in identifying those MCI patients who will progress to recognised Alzheimer’s Disease. Beautifully presented in full colour, Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Mild Cognitive Impairment includes case studies and discusses future therapeutic and diagnostic strategies. It is an invaluable resource for postgraduates and professionals, for specialist physicians in neurology and psychiatric medicine, geriatric medicine and general practice.