Slowing mild cognitive impairment

Each year, about 1 in 10 people with mild cognitive impairment develops dementia. But some people with mild cognitive impairment improve over time or stay at the same cognitive level. In fact, between 5% and 10% return to normal in terms of their thinking abilities.

Mild cognitive impairment involves changes in memory or mental function, but the changes aren't severe enough to interfere with daily living. Dementia, on the other hand, is a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking and social abilities that does interfere with daily life.

Researchers are learning more about the people who have mild cognitive impairment but don't go on to develop dementia.

A review of 17 studies, for example, showed that people with mild cognitive impairment who are more likely to return to normal cognition have several things in common. The researchers found them to be younger, have more education, don’t have high blood pressure, haven’t had a stroke and don’t have the APOE e4 allele, a gene variant linked to Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers have also learned that treating high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease can reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment and dementia.

Many experts see mild cognitive impairment as an opportunity to act early and help delay dementia or prevent it altogether with the right treatment. Outside of medications, these steps may help slow cognitive decline:

• Treat depression — Depression is common in people with mild cognitive impairment. Treating depression can help improve memory.
• Treat sleep apnea — This condition causes breathing to start and stop repeatedly during sleep, making good-quality rest difficult, if not impossible. Getting treatment for sleep apnea can restore sleep and make it easier to concentrate during the day.
• Control high blood pressure — Blood vessel damage can cause damage to the brain. Doctors think that controlling high blood pressure and other diseases that can affect the blood vessels may help prevent dementia.
• Follow a healthy lifestyle — Evidence suggests that a healthy diet and regular physical activity may help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia. Exercise, for example, has been shown to improve some thinking-related functions. In turn, it may delay the onset of dementia in people with mild cognitive impairment.

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Pick up a copy of Mayo Clinic on Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias for a thorough guide on lowering dementia risk, along with living with dementia.