Mild cognitive impairment in patients with Parkinson’s disease: An updated mini-review and future outlook

Abstract

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is one of the common non-motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD). MCI is the transition stage between normal aging and full-blown dementia and is also a powerful predictor of dementia. Although the concept of MCI has been used to describe some of the PD symptoms for many years, there is a lack of consistent diagnostic criteria. Moreover, because of the diverse patterns of the cognitive functions, each cognitive impairment will have a different progression. In this review, we overviewed the diagnostic criteria for PD-MCI, primarily focused on the heterogeneity of PD-MCI patients’ cognitive function, including various types of cognitive functions and their progression rates. A review of this topic is expected to be beneficial for clinical diagnosis, early intervention, and treatment. In addition, we also discussed the unmet needs and future vision in this field.