[Descriptive study of behavioural disorders in mild cognitive impairment]. / Estudio descriptivo de los trastornos conductuales en el deterioro cognitivo leve.

INTRODUCTION: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is defined as an abnormality in cognitive function not provoking a noticeable disability in activities of daily living in the affected person. In a group of patients with MCI, we propose to observe and to quantify the presence of behavioral disorders, using the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). PATIENTS AND METHODS: NPI is a known instrument in evaluation of this kind of disorders in patients with dementia, and it is a semi structured interview with a relevant informer or relative to the patient. NPI was applied to a series of 100 cases (61 women and 39 men) of MCI, diagnosed as usual in our settings. Mean age was 74.3 +/- 10 years, and mean MEC (Spanish modified version of MMSE) 25.57 +/- 4.2 (over a maximum of 35 points). RESULTS: Most prevalent disorder was depression, in 36 % of cases, and other frequent findings were irritability (35%), anxiety (24%) and apathy (19%). In some cases, agitation (4%), abnormal motor behavior (3%) and delusions (1%) were detected. Hallucination, disinhibition and euphoria or elation were not detected in this series. CONCLUSION: Data show a certain similarity with occidental culture environment, globally considered. The presence of behavioral and psychological disorders in patients with MCI could be a marker for later development of dementia. NPI can be a usable tool when detection and evaluation of these symptoms is required.

Estudio descriptivo de los trastornos conductuales en el deterioro cognitivo leve / Descriptive study of behavioural disorders in mild cognitive impairment

Introducción. El deterioro cognitivo leve (DCL) se define como una alteración de las funciones cognitivas que no motiva una disfunción notable en las actividades corrientes del afectado. En un grupo de pacientes con DCL nos proponemos observar y cuantificar la presencia de trastornos de la conducta, mediante el inventario neuropsiquiátrico (NPI). Pacientes y métodos. El NPI es un instrumento corriente en la evaluación de este tipo de trastornos en pacientes con demencia, consistente en una entrevista semiestructurada a un informador fiable del entorno del paciente. Se aplicó este instrumento a una serie de 100 pacientes (61 mujeres y 39 varones) diagnosticados de DCL en nuestra unidad. La edad media de la muestra fue de 74,3 ñ 10 años, y la puntuación media del MEC, 25,57 ñ 4,2. Resultados. En un 62 por ciento de los casos existía un trastorno conductual o psicológico. El trastorno más prevalente fue la depresión, en un 36 por ciento de los casos, seguido de irritabilidad (35 por ciento), ansiedad (24 por ciento) y apatía (19 por ciento). Presentes en algún caso, estuvieron la agitación (4 por ciento), la actividad motora aberrante (3 por ciento) y el delirio (sólo un caso). No se encontraron alucinaciones, desinhibición o euforia en este grupo de pacientes. Conclusión. Los datos encontrados coinciden en líneas generales con los descritos previamente para ámbitos de la cultura occidental en general. La existencia de trastornos conductuales y psicológicos en pacientes con DCL podría ser un factor predictivo del desarrollo ulterior de demencia.El NPI puede ser una herramienta útil en la detección y evaluación de estos trastornos (AU)

Introduction. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is defined as an abnormality in cognitive function not provoking a noticeable disability in activities of daily living in the affected person. In a group of patients with MCI, we propose to observe and to quantify the presence of behavioral disorders, using the neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI). Patients and methods. NPI is a known instrument in evaluation of this kind of disorders in patients with dementia, and it is a semi structured interview with a relevant informer or relative to the patient. NPI was applied to a series of 100 cases (61 women and 39 men) of MCI, diagnosed as usual in our settings. Mean age was 74.3 ± 10 years, and mean MEC (Spanish modified version of MMSE) 25.57 ± 4.2 (over a maximum of 35 points). Results. Most prevalent disorder was depression, in 36 % of cases, and other frequent findings were irritability (35%), anxiety (24%) and apathy (19%). In some cases, agitation (4%), abnormal motor behavior (3%) and delusions (1%) were detected. Hallucination, desinhibition and euphoria or elation were not detected in this series. Conclusion. Data show a certain similarity with occidental culture environment, globally considered. The presence of behavioral and psychological disorders in patients with MCI could be a marker for later development of dementia. NPI can be a usable tool when detection and evaluation of these symptoms is required (AU)