When issues like memory loss and cognitive impairment are brought up, things can get very emotional, very quickly. After all, none of us want to watch our loved ones slip into a disease that seems to slowly steal their identity – it’s all very scary, and very significant.
But with the right knowledge, and a little help, you can better help ease the pain and make a better transition for your loved one’s final days, keeping them included in the family as best as possible, and mitigating what mild cognitive impairment brings to the table. So let’s tackle a few questions surrounding the disease.
What is Mild Cognitive Impairment?
As the experts at Regency Memory Care will tell you, mild cognitive impairment is a condition wherein a subject experiences minor problems in cognitive functions such as reading, thinking, and memory. These symptoms are severe enough to be noticeable, but not severe enough to be diagnosed as dementia.
They include: forgetting recent events or repeating questions, struggling with logical problems, being distracted, taking longer to find the right word, and struggling to tell the distance of certain objects, or judge dimensions and depths, as per Alzheimers.org.uk.
Can it be reversed?
As far as we know today, not entirely. MCI is part of aging. Theories and experimental solutions are being drafted up and tested on a daily basis, but no actual results have been published showing a way to totally reverse cognitive impairment. That being said, it can be slowed, and with some preventative care, the symptoms and their severity can be drawn out.
Even more promising, a study in 2013 regarding MCI patients and their decline into dementia, as per Good Therapy, showed that several subjects did revert to normal levels of cognitive function – the exact methodology is unknown, but the hypothesis involves exercise, cognitively-enriching activities, and lower blood pressure.
As we continue to improve our general health and prolong our lifespans, it’s the health of the brain that becomes the most difficult factor to deal with. Live long enough, and you too will undergo mental impairment – but keeping yourself engaged through therapy practices will slow the process.
