ABSTRACT
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is generally referred to as the transitional zone between normal cognitive aging and early dementia or clinically probable Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (1), although not all AD patients pass through an MCI stage. The term was first coined by Petersen (2). Most individuals with MCI eventually develop AD, which suggests MCI may be the earliest phase of the AD (3-6). MCI can be divided into two broad subtypes: amnestic (memory-affecting) MCI or non-amnestic MCI (2,7). Other functions, such as language, attention, and visuospatial skills, may be impaired in either type. Amnestic mild MCI patients characteristically have subtle but measurable memory disorder not associated with dementia. Individuals with MCI are at an increased risk of developing AD, or another form of dementia with a rate of progression between 10% and 15% per year (8,9), although there have been cases where patients have reverted to normal (1,10,11).
