Appropriate Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment-Just What Is “Normal”?

The topic of appropriate diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment-the focus of the November, 2011 issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry-is timely given the recently proposed DSM-5 criteria for minor neurocognitive disorders that were tested in the Large Academic Sites Field trials performed by the American Psychiatric Association.

This is the first time a cognitive diagnosis previously restricted to “pre-dementia populations” will be applied broadly to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. It will be increasingly important to strengthen the definitions of what is “normal” to avoid the “pathologizing” of aging or of any individuals who experience temporary or continuous cognitive impairment.

In this podcast, Dr Helen Lavretsky summarizes the highlights of the following 3 studies that appear in that issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

1. Yeh YC, Tsang HY, Lin PY, et al. Subtypes of mild cognitive impairment among the elderly with major depressive disorder in remission. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011;19:923-931.

2. Hanfelt JJ, Wuu J, Sollinger AB, et al. An exploration of subgroups of mild cognitive impairment based on cognitive, neuropsychiatric and functional features: analysis of data from the national Alzheimer's coordinating center. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;19:940-950.

3. Duara R, Loewenstein DA, Greig MT, et al. Pre-MCI and MCI: Neuropsychological, Clinical, and Imaging Features and Progression Rates. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2011 Nov;19:951-960.

Appropriate Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment