Lovingly Quitania Park, PhD, Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, Davis, CA.
Sarah Tomaszewski Farias, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of California, California, CA.
Abstract
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a term used to describe the transitional stage between normal aging and dementia, wherein changes in cognitive abilities are limited enough to maintain independence. Although the degree of functional impairment present does not yet warrant a diagnosis of dementia in MCI, there are subtle changes in everyday activities that may indicate the presence of an underlying neurodegenerative condition. The goal of this paper is to review the types of functional changes that are detectable in MCI and the prognostic value of assessing everyday functioning in this population.
Keywords: MCI, Functional Impairment, ADL, Dementia, Aging.