Mild
Cognitive Impairment
Vs.
Normal Brain Aging and Dementia
Mild Cognitive Impairment
(MCI) has recently become a classification of memory impairment
for the aging and the elderly that may be a precursor to the development
of more severe neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and
dementia. However, mild cognitive impairment does not always lead
to severe or even worsening memory impairment; it may just be a
minor memory condition that can be controlled through the use of
external memory aides. It wasn’t until recently that physicians
began to classify this mild memory impairment as something other
than normal memory loss with aging. Studies have shown that certain
people that are not suffering from Alzheimers or dementia still
suffer from mild cognitive impairment when compared to others in
their same age group.
Some of the indicators of mild cognitive impairment are:
- Losing track of what you are doing in the
middle of an activity
- Losing important objects
- Forgetting normal daily tasks
- Increasing and total reliance on outside
memory aids to function normally
Normal aging can hinder
memory capacity, but mild cognitive impairment might actually be
a precursor to Alzheimers. If you feel that you may be suffering
from mild cognitive impairment, it is important to let your doctor
know you concerns and your symptoms as soon as possible. It has
been shown recently that by administering certain cutting edge medications
early on enough in the onset of Alzheimers and other forms of dementia,
a significant amount of the memory can be preserved.
|
