Clinical characteristics of mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

AIM To evaluate the neuropsychological features of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). METHODS 15 patients with MCI and 19 normal individuals were neuropsychologically tested by various instruments including Clinical Memory Scale (CMS), Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised Chinese (WAIS RC), Mini MentalState Examination (MMSE). The neuropsychological difference was analyzed by t test and covariance analysis. RESULTS All the indexes of CMS tests were significantly lower in the MCI patients than in the normal individuals. The MMSE scores and the majority of performance tests of WAIS RC were significantly poorer in patients with MCI than in the controls. CONCLUSION Patients with MCI exhibit a decline in multi cognitive function and have a similar changes in episodic memory, visuospatial skills and psychomoter speed at early stage of Alzheimer disease.