This Article is From Apr 03, 2009

People with memory problems less at risk of dementia: Study

London:

A new research in Britain has revealed that people with memory problems are less at risk of developing dementia than previously thought.

Researchers, led by Dr Alex Mitchell at the University of Leicester, have based their findings on an analysis of data from 41 different studies over five years, the latest issue of the 'Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica' journal reported.

Dr Mitchell said: "This new research suggests that people with mild cognitive impairment appear to have a lower risk of progressing to dementia than previously believed.

"Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is an important disorder of memory and related areas found in about 1 in 6 people seen in general practice. The condition can occur in mid or late life and until recently most doctors told people with MCI that their risk of developing dementia was up to 15% per year making deterioration inevitable within 5 to 10 years.

"Our research found that the proportion of people who progressed was 10% per year in high risk groups and in fact only 5% per year in low risk groups. Moreover only a minority (20-40%) of people developed dementia even after extended follow-up and the risk appeared to reduce slightly with time."

"These results should be seen as positive for those with memory problems even for those that struggle with the kind of memory tests given by the GP or in a memory clinic.

There is a large effort to find out who is most at risk of further decline as well to find strategies that might slow down such progress," Dr Mitchell added.

According to the researchers, doctors are often reluctant to give a diagnosis of MCI due to its consequences, but this current finding should encourage doctors to identify people with memory problems. Many such individuals stay stable for a long period and a substantial number also improve.

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