Research diagnostic criteria for mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Operationalized research criteria for mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB) were published in 2020. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to review the evidence for the diagnostic clinical features and biomarkers in MCI-LB set out in the criteria.

MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase were searched on 9/28/22 for relevant articles. Articles were included if they presented original data reporting the rates of diagnostic features in MCI-LB.

Fifty-seven articles were included. The meta-analysis supported the inclusion of the current clinical features in the diagnostic criteria. Evidence for striatal dopaminergic imaging and meta-iodobenzylguanidine cardiac scintigraphy, though limited, supports their inclusion. Quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (PET) show promise as diagnostic biomarkers.

The available evidence largely supports the current diagnostic criteria for MCI-LB. Further evidence will help refine the diagnostic criteria and understand how best to apply them in clinical practice and research.

A meta-analysis of the diagnostic features of MCI-LB was carried out. The four core clinical features were more common in MCI-LB than MCI-AD/stable MCI. Neuropsychiatric and autonomic features were also more common in MCI-LB. More evidence is needed for the proposed biomarkers. FDG-PET and quantitative EEG show promise as diagnostic biomarkers in MCI-LB.