On my most recent edition of Coffee w/ Tim: A Conversation of Life and Parkinson’s I discussed with Dr. Soania Mathur an unsettling topic that gets far less play in the PD community than it probably should. Abject fear may play a part in this; a fear of the unknown or a fear that it may lead to something far worse.

Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is defined as a slight but noticeable and measurable decline in cognitive abilities, including memory and thinking skills.(1) Some people with Parkinson’s disease experience mild cognitive impairment. feelings of distraction or disorganization can accompany cognitive impairment, along with finding it difficult to plan and accomplish tasks.(2)

As the adage goes, hindsight is twenty-twenty, I can look back and see that it was likely MCI that ultimately cost me my nursing career. I had simply lost the ability to organize a busy day or accomplish the tasks that needed to be done. With so many of those tasks needing to be done Right Now! it is no wonder that I struggled when you understand that Parkinson’s causes everything to s.l.o.w.d.o.w.n.s.o.m.u.c.h.

Here is Dr. Mathur and Nurse Tim discussing MCI on my YouTube channel. I hope you enjoy the conversation and find it helpful in better understanding an important PD topic. I hope it will remove some of the fear and misunderstanding around the diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment.

Important Attributes of MCI

MCI is very common both in PD and the general public
Early in any PD diagnosis 10-15% develop MCI
MCI does not guarantee a dementia
25-30% of late onset go on to develop dementia
The development of dementia is very rare in YOPD
What are the variables that you can control? Exercise!

 



 

Friday Mornings at 10:00CST
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Coffee w/ Tim
A Conversation of Life & Parkinson’s

Join me every Friday for a relaxing time of conversation. Bring a coffee and a friend. Come with the expectation of discovering how you can Live Your Best!

 

 

 

(1) https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/mild-cognitive-impairment
(2) https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Symptoms/Non-Movement-Symptoms/Cognitive-Changes