The Combination of Dysexecutive and Amnestic Deficits Strongly Predicts Conversion to Dementia in Young Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients: A Report from the Gothenburg-Oslo MCI Study.
OBJECTIVE
The present study aimed to add to the knowledge of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by studying the prognosis in a relatively young cohort of patients characterized by neuropsychological criteria.


METHODS
PATIENTS (MEAN AGE: 63 years) with cognitive complaints and MCI (n = 302) were recruited from two university clinics and followed for 2 years.


RESULTS
Pure dysexecutive MCI occurred in 11.7% of the neuropsychologically impaired patients, while 59.3 and 29.0% were characterized as having pure amnestic MCI or multidomain MCI. During the study period, the state of 2 (10.5%) of the patients with single-domain dysexecutive MCI converted to dementia, while 28 (29.2%) of the patients with pure amnestic MCI became demented. Of the patients with both executive and amnestic deficits, 28 (59.6%) became demented.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that dysexecutive symptoms in combination with amnestic symptoms constitute a strong risk factor for dementia in young MCI patients. A significant number of patients in all subgroups showed normal test results at follow-up, indicating that a neuropsychological diagnosis needs to be supported by imaging or biomarker data.
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; Clinical Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Erik
E
Hessen
Clinical Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Ivar
I
Reinvang
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; Clinical Neuroscience Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Norway.
Carl F
CF
Eliassen
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, Mölndal, Sweden.
Arto
A
Nordlund
Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway ; Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Leif
L
Gjerstad
Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Oslo, Norway ; Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.
Tormod
T
Fladby
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University, Mölndal, Sweden.
Anders
A
Wallin
Amnestic mild cognitive impairment; Dysexecutive mild cognitive impairment; Multidomain mild cognitive impairment; Prognosis of mild cognitive impairment