Mild cognitive impairment: Profile of a cohort from a private sector memory clinic

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Geriatrics
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Private memory clinics may serve a distinct patient population compared to academic institutions due to referral patterns.
• Understanding the characteristics of patients in private settings is crucial for accurate diagnosis and management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To profile patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) within a private sector memory clinic.
• To evaluate the utility of the Concise Cognitive Test (CONCOG) for diagnosing and subtyping MCI.

Main Methods:

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) diagnosed using Petersen's revised clinical criteria.
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) used to assess medial temporal atrophy and cerebral small vessel disease (white matter lesions, lacunes) in a subset of patients.
• Analysis of MRI findings in relation to cognitive impairment.

Main Results:

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) constituted one-third of the memory clinic sample (113/371).
• The Concise Cognitive Test (CONCOG) proved effective for diagnosing and subtyping MCI.
• Amnestic MCI was the most frequent subtype.
• Lacunar infarcts were more common than white matter lesions and hippocampal atrophy, and inversely correlated with verbal fluency in a subsample (n=33).

Conclusions:

• Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may be more frequently identified in private hospitals, potentially due to earlier patient referrals.
• The CONCOG is a viable tool for diagnosing and subtyping MCI.
• Lacunar infarcts were observed more frequently than medial temporal atrophy in this private clinic sample.