The Combination of Dysexecutive and Amnestic Deficits Strongly Predicts Conversion to Dementia in Young Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients: A Report from the Gothenburg-Oslo MCI Study

Background/Aims: The present study aimed to add to the knowledge of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by studying the prognosis in a relatively young cohort of patients characterized by neuropsychological criteria. Methods: Patients (mean age: 63 years) with cognitive complaints and MCI (n = 302) were...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Erik Hessen, Ivar Reinvang, Carl F. Eliassen, Arto Nordlund, Leif Gjerstad, Tormod Fladby, Anders Wallin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Karger Publishers 2014-04-01
Series:Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra
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Online Access:http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/360282
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Summary:Background/Aims: The present study aimed to add to the knowledge of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by studying the prognosis in a relatively young cohort of patients characterized by neuropsychological criteria. Methods: Patients (mean age: 63 years) with cognitive complaints and MCI (n = 302) were recruited from two university clinics and followed for 2 years. Results: Pure dysexecutive MCI occurred in 11.7% of the neuropsychologically impaired patients, while 59.3 and 29.0% were characterized as having pure amnestic MCI or multidomain MCI. During the study period, the state of 2 (10.5%) of the patients with single-domain dysexecutive MCI converted to dementia, while 28 (29.2%) of the patients with pure amnestic MCI became demented. Of the patients with both executive and amnestic deficits, 28 (59.6%) became demented. Conclusion: The results suggest that dysexecutive symptoms in combination with amnestic symptoms constitute a strong risk factor for dementia in young MCI patients. A significant number of patients in all subgroups showed normal test results at follow-up, indicating that a neuropsychological diagnosis needs to be supported by imaging or biomarker data.
ISSN:1664-5464