Educational content on VJDementia is intended for healthcare professionals only. By visiting this website and accessing this information you confirm that you are a healthcare professional.

Share this video  

EAN 2022 | Ethical considerations when investigating the causes of mild cognitive impairment

Kristian Steen Frederiksen, MD, PhD, FEBN, Danish Dementia Research Centre, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark, discusses the considerations that should be taken into account when investigating the underlying causes of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Many things can cause MCI, including neurodegenerative dementia disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia, and Lewy body dementia. Hence, clinicians must warn the patients that if they continue with diagnostic evaluations, they might find out that the patient has an incurable, yet manageable, dementia disorder at an early stage. Although this could be relevant for the management of the patient, it could also be knowledge that patients find difficult to handle. Even though this is a limitation, it is important to not regress to a nihilistic approach to these patients, because MCI can be caused by conditions that can be treated like cerebral tumors, vitamin deficiencies, or depression. This interview took place at the European Academy of Neurology (EAN) 2022 Congress in Vienna, Austria.