Mild Cognitive Impairment vs Dementia: How Can You Tell?

Mild Cognitive Impairment, MCI, is not a form of dementia. It is a catch-all term. MCI is a loss of memory or other thinking skills that’s worse than expected for someone your age or education. 

With MCI, you can still manage most daily tasks. Most people with MCI don’t progress into Dementia, but they are at a greater risk. So where is the line between MCI and Dementia? 

With Dementia, the person needs assistance with daily tasks. There is a line between the two. It’s a fuzzy line but it’s still there. The key difference involves looking at a person's “Activities of Daily Living” and doing a “functional assessment.” It’s something that doctors understand but may be meaningless to the average person. 

What we’re looking at is the ability to do daily tasks, such as balancing your checkbook, driving a car, knowing to put a coat on when it’s cold outside, or being able to bathe and feed yourself. The question of crossing the line is, with MCI, you can still manage most daily tasks on your own. However, folks with Dementia need assistance with these things and the more severe the dementia, the more assistance is needed. So that’s the dividing line between MCI and dementia. Not a sharp line, but it’s there. It’s a gray area, and it can be hard to tell when a person crosses over that line. 

This is where Dr. Bradford C. Dickerson, a Harvard neurologist, comes in. Dr. Dickerson has found a simple rule of thumb that doctors and families can use to help determine when that line has been crossed. This is something he shared when he trains medical doctors. Dr. Dickerson states, it’s particularly important to distinguish between MCI and dementia because that line varies from person to person. 

He tells doctors that one simple question can provide the answer. He tells physicians that what I like to ask is, “if you as a care partner can leave the person and go on a trip for a weekend or a week, would they function independently at the things that they need to get done to get by in daily life?” If the care partner says, “no, I would not do that,” then you can comfortably say that the person has probably crossed the threshold into dementia.

 

Now, let’s keep in mind that this is a “rule of thumb,” it’s not a clinical tool. It’s not a diagnosis, it’s an indicator. It’s an extremely helpful indicator that real people in the real world can use and understand the difference between MCI and dementia, and where the person might be in that progression, if they are progressing. It’s the most useful determinant out there that doctors can use and that you can watch out for and keep an eye on too. 

For a free memory screening, call Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research at 330-491-1118. We are located in North Canton, OH and local transportation may be available.

Neuro-Behavioral Clinical Research (NBR) is nationally recognized as a top 10 CNS research facility. Founded by Dr. Shishuka Malhotra, NBR is dedicated to providing patients with access to cutting-edge treatments and improved medicines. NBR specializes in research for mental health and memory loss. Together, our team has conducted over 200 clinical trials. We strive to end the stigma around mental health, raise awareness that early detection CAN slow the progression of memory loss, and empower our patients to live healthy lives. Our services are completely free and insurance is not needed. 330-493-1118  https://www.nbclinicalresearch.com/