Home › Research › Mild cognitive impairment
Mild cognitive impairment: an opportunity to identify patients at high risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease
Levey A, Lah J, Goldstein F, Steenland K, Bliwise D.. Clinical therapeutics, 2006-07-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Background There is increasing evidence that subtle losses in cognitive function may be symptomatic of a transition to early Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ongoing research is focusing on the identification of those individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who are most likely to convert to AD. Of the MCI subtypes, patients with amnestic MCI (a-MCI) are at greatest risk. Objectives The objectives of this article were to review the relationship between MCI, normal aging, and AD, and to summarize recent research on the diagnosis and potential treatment of MCI. Methods Relevant articles were identified through searches of MEDLINE and EMBASE using the terms mild cognitive impairment; cognitive impairment, no dementia; and dementia prodrome, with no restrictions as to year. Additional papers of interest were identified from the reference lists of the identified articles. The search was current as of February 2006. Results Guidelines and recommendations are being developed to assist physicians in diagnosing MCI, identifying its subtype and etiology, understanding the risks for conversion to AD, and managing disease progression. Given the existence of a subset of individuals with a-MCI, who are at greatest risk for progression to AD but still have high levels of cognition and function, the ability to improve symptoms and delay progression to AD would be particularly beneficial. In a 3-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 769 patients with a-MCI, treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil was associated with a significantly lower rate of progression to AD compared with placebo during the first 12 months of treatment (hazard ratio=0.42; 95% CI, 0.24-0.76; P=0.004) but not at later time points. Of other types of agents that have been investigated (antioxidants, estrogen replacement therapy, cyclooxygenase-2-selective inhibitors), none have shown significant beneficial effects in delaying cognitive decline or progression to AD. New drugs such as secretase inhibitors, small molecules that disrupt amyloid aggregation, and immunotherapies are in preclinical development. Conclusions MCI involves more substantial cognitive and memory decline than normal aging and represents a significant risk factor for the development of dementia. Further research is needed into treatments to delay the conversion from MCI to AD.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Levey, A., Lah, J., Goldstein, F., Steenland, K., & Bliwise, D. (2006). Mild cognitive impairment: an opportunity to identify patients at high risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease. Clinical therapeutics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2006.07.006
Vancouver
Levey A, Lah J, Goldstein F, Steenland K, Bliwise D. Mild cognitive impairment: an opportunity to identify patients at high risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease. Clinical therapeutics. 2006. doi:10.1016/j.clinthera.2006.07.006. PMID: 16990077.
BibTeX
@article{levey2006-16990077,
author = {Levey, A. and Lah, J. and Goldstein, F. and Steenland, K. and Bliwise, D.},
title = {{Mild cognitive impairment: an opportunity to identify patients at high risk for progression to Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Clinical therapeutics},
year = {2006},
doi = {10.1016/j.clinthera.2006.07.006},
pmid = {16990077},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinthera.2006.07.006}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Guidelines and recommendations are being developed to assist physicians in diagnosing MCI, identifying its subtype and etiology, understanding the risks for conversion to AD, and managing disease progression.
- In a 3-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 769 patients with a-MCI, treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil was associated with a significantly lower rate of progression to AD compared with placebo during the first 12 months of treatment (hazard ratio=0.42; 95% CI, 0.24-0.76; P=0.004) but not at later time points.
- Of other types of agents that have been investigated (antioxidants, estrogen replacement therapy, cyclooxygenase-2-selective inhibitors), none have shown significant beneficial effects in delaying cognitive decline or progression to AD.
- Conclusions MCI involves more substantial cognitive and memory decline than normal aging and represents a significant risk factor for the development of dementia.
Why it matters
This review discusses mild cognitive impairment and the risk of progression to Alzheimer's disease, noting that amnestic mild cognitive impairment carries the greatest risk. It mentions a three-year trial in which donepezil was associated with a lower rate of progression during the first 12 months compared with placebo.
Study details
- Participants769
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Clinical therapeutics) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Clinical Therapeutics: journal h-index 173 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2006 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 769 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 181 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 8.2 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 6.9× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 7 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 1 / 4 | Cited 13 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Donald L. Bliwise: h-index 72 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Emory University: institution h-index 1,360 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16990077) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here. Showing 12 of 37.
Later studies that cite this one
7 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Mild cognitive impairment
Also tagged “mini-mental”
840 studies in the library carry the topic tag “mini-mental”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 840 tagged studies.