Mild Cognitive Impairment

Host: Darryl S. Chutka, M.D.

Guest: Ronald C. Petersen, M.D., Ph.D.

We all experience cognitive changes as we age. If you doubt this, try learning to play the piano with a group of 7-and 8-year-olds and see who sounds best at the recital. We tend to have difficulty with new learning and can struggle with short term memory. When do these cognitive changes become pathologic? Dementia results in a gradual decline in cognitive abilities, memory and behavior, severe enough to interfere with daily life. Between the cognitive changes that occur with aging and those with dementia, there is another medical entity, mild cognitive impairment. How does it differ from the normal cognitive changes of aging? How does it differ from dementia? And is it important for us to recognize it? These are some of the questions I’ll be asking my guest for today’s podcast, Ronald C. Petersen, M.D., Ph.D., a neurologist and internationally recognized expert in the field of dementia as we discuss “Mild Cognitive Impairment”.

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