Mild cognitive impairment

Abstract The concept of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) has been introduced to describe cognitive impairment in non-demented subjects. Subjects with MCI are of major clinical importance because they have an increased risk to develop dementia. MCI is a frequent condition with a prevalence of 10–20% in the elderly population. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause, but any somatic, neurological, or psychiatric disorder and drug that influence brain functioning could cause it as well. A clinical assessment can identify several of the underlying causes and biomarkers may also be useful. Treatment is available for some of the underlying causes of MCI. The development of novel biomarkers, such as tau PET, and novel treatments may increase opportunities to diagnose the underlying pathology and give disease-specific treatments in the future.