Need for an Update for the Guideline for the Management of Mild Cognitive Impairment

Attention is being paid to diagnosis and treatment of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) because early diagnosis and preventive management can slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. In particular, in the present era, the use of biomarkers for predicting conversion into dementia is permitted in medical practice. Therefore, authors aimed to propose additional considerations when updating guidelines for the management of MCI, including predictable biomarkers, revising treatment option after additional clinical trials for cholinesterase inhibitors, and detailed regimes for lifestyle interventions. After reviewing 3 patients with MCI by detailed evaluation, we realized that cholinesterase inhibitors were not recommended. In addition, regular exercise and cognitive training were only possible recommendations for patients according to current guidelines, although all 3 patients had evidence of β-amyloid accumulation and related neurodegeneration. Furthermore, caregivers for all 3 patients were worried whether patients could keep doing regular exercise and cognitive training by themselves and asked about the economic training system which monitors patients so that they can keep training. Therefore, we propose that guidelines for managing MCI need to be updated in the present era when the use of biomarkers for predicting conversion into dementia is permitted in medical practice.