Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Mild cognitive impairment, also known as MCI, is not a disease itself; rather, it’s a way to describe brain health and performance based on a cognitive test and reported thinking skills.
Symptoms of MCI
Brain Talk: What is MCI and How to Diagnose it
“Lots of things can cause cognitive change, some of which are pretty normal. Age is related with a lot of declines in functioning that are pretty typical. There are other things that can cause cognitive changes and MCI that are related to disease, one of which being Alzheimer’s disease.”
–Emily Paolillo, UCSF Neurologist
–Emily Paolillo, UCSF Neurologist
What is the difference between MCI and Alzheimer’s disease?
What causes MCI?
Mild cognitive impairment could be caused by a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, but it can also result from a host of other factors, from cardiovascular health issues to hormone changes to a lack of sleep. If untreated, these other causes could also increase the risk of developing dementia. But treating these conditions may well reverse and clear up MCI.
Click the icons below to see the different causes of MCI:
Some people with insomnia experience MCI. Sleep deprivation prevents the brain from resting and recharging. Working with a doctor to improve sleep quality can help reverse this type of MCI.
Click on our interactive learning guide below to learn more about MCI
Patient Perspective: Leah Fisher on Living with an MCI Diagnosis
Genetic Risk
The APOE ε4 gene variant, which is also linked to Alzheimer’s disease, is associated with a higher risk of MCI. However, not everyone with a genetic risk will develop MCI, and lifestyle factors like cardiovascular health, sleep, and education also influence risk.es of vascular dementia. CADASIL leads to recurrent strokes, migraines, cognitive decline, and eventually dementia. It is caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene, and symptoms often start between ages 30 and 50.
Explore our dementia learning guides
Explore our dementia learning guides
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FAQs
Mild cognitive impairment can look a lot like “normal” aging. As people age, cognitive lapses — like the occasional loss of a word or blanking on someone’s name in a conversation — are “normal” from time to time. How can you tell the difference between this normal aging and something more serious? Experts about the red flags that can help differentiate typical age-related cognitive changes from early signs of the cognitive decline which may be associated with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
MCI can be a symptom of a number of different health conditions. Whether or not MCI is treatable depends on its root cause. In the event that MCI is the result of Alzheimer’s disease or another type of dementia, making lifestyle changes, managing symptoms or exploring disease-modifying Alzheimer’s treatments may help treat MCI symptoms, too.
According to Dr. Sarah Kremen, the director of the Sidell-Kagan Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment Development Program at University of California, Los Angeles, Exactly how long it takes for patients with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s to progress to dementia of the Alzheimer’s type, losing their abilities to carry out daily activities independently as their symptoms worsen, depends from one individual to another.
Unlike Alzheimer’s disease, which involves progressive and debilitating cognitive decline that interferes with independence, MCI causes milder symptoms that may remain stable or even improve. MCI does not usually affect daily functioning to the extent Alzheimer’s does, and people with MCI can often live independently.
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