People With Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Are At Lower Risk Of Progressing To Dementia

University of Leicester and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has led a study and revealed that people with memory problems are less at risk of developing dementia than previously thought.

The University of Leicester and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust has led a study revealing that people with mild memory problems are less at risk of developing dementia than previously thought.

The five-year study analyzed data from 41 studies and dovetails with a Government focus to establish memory clinics in every town in the UK.

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The study, led by Dr Alex Mitchell from the University of Leicester Department of Cancer Studies and Molecular Medicine, was conducted with Dr. Shiri-Feshki of Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.

"This new research suggests that people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) appear to have a lower risk of progressing to dementia than previously believed," Mitchell said.

"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important disorder of memory and related areas found in about 1 in 6 people seen in general practice. The condition can occur in mid or late life and, until recently, most doctors told people with MCI that their risk of developing dementia was up to 15 percent per year, making deterioration to dementia almost inevitable within 5 to 10 years.

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"Our research found that the proportion of people who progressed was 10 percent per year in high risk groups and in fact only 5 percent per year in low risk groups. Moreover, only a minority (20-40 percent) of people developed dementia even after extended follow-up and the risk appeared to reduce slightly with time.

"These results should be seen as positive for those with memory problems even for those that struggle with the kind of memory tests given by the General Practitioner (GP) or in a memory clinic. There is a large effort to find out who is most at risk of further decline as well to find strategies that might slow down such progress," he added.

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GPs have often been reluctant to give a diagnosis of MCI because of its consequences but this current finding should encourage clinicians to identify people with memory problems.

Many such individuals stay stable for a long period and a substantial number also improve.

The study has been published in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

Source-ANI
ARU/L