Subjective Cognitive Impairment Research

As age increases so does the risk of developing decline in certain aspects of information processing, memory perhaps the best known of these. For some individuals, perceived change in memory is worrying enough to prompt self-referral to their general practitioner or memory services for neuropsychological assessment. For a proportion of people formal investigation culminates in a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). For others however no objective change in memory or cognitive function is detected. Perceived decline in memory in the absence of objective evidence is commonly described as subjective cognitive impairment (SCI) [1]. Like MCI, although SCI is associated with an increased risk of developing dementia it is etiologically heterogeneous with some causes, such as depression [2], potentially responsive to intervention. Unlike MCI however, individuals with SCI appear to be followed up clinically relatively rarely. This is a controversial area and debate continues regarding the very early diagnosis of dementia in the absence of cure. However, as SCI can have a potentially treatable cause and can per se, detrimentally affect quality of life, it can be argued that cases of SCI should be fully investigated.