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Dementia

Mild cognitive impairment—not always what it seems

Nature Reviews Neurology volume 10, pages 130–131 (2014)Cite this article

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Mild cognitive impairment is widely viewed as an early stage of dementia but, as a new study highlights, some people never progress, and might even revert to normal cognition. Poor predictive validity of prodromal conditions has clear implications for the principle of 'do no harm', as overtreatment becomes a possibility.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Blossom Stephan for substantial and constructive comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Meibergdreef 9, Amsterdam, 1105 AZ, Netherlands

    Edo Richard

  2. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Cambridge Institute of Public Health, Cambridge University, Forvie Site, Robinson Way, Cambridge, CB2 0SR

    Carol Brayne

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  1. Edo Richard
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  2. Carol Brayne
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Correspondence to Edo Richard.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Richard, E., Brayne, C. Mild cognitive impairment—not always what it seems. Nat Rev Neurol 10, 130–131 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2014.23

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