Title:Mild Behavioral Impairment: An Early Sign and Predictor of Alzheimer's
Disease Dementia
Volume: 19
Issue: 6
Author(s): Fei Jiang, Cheng Cheng, Jinsong Huang, Qiaoling Chen and Weidong Le*
Affiliation:
- Liaoning Provincial Key Laboratory for Research on the Pathogenic Mechanisms of Neurological Diseases, the First Affiliated Hospital, Dalian Medical University, Dalian 116021, China;
- Institute of Neurology, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences,
Sichuan Provincial Hospital, Chengdu 610072, China
Keywords:
Mild behavioral impairment, Alzheimer's disease, psychosis, early cognitive deficit, early predictor, early intervention, biological mechanisms.
Abstract:
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly
population and places heavy burdens on medical care and nursing. Recently, the psychiatric and
behavioral symptoms of prodromal AD, especially mild behavioral impairment (MBI), have attracted
much attention. In 2012, Alzheimer's Association International Conference, MBI was proposed as a
syndrome with psychiatric and behavioral disturbance before the onset of typical clinical cognitive
symptoms in dementia. Increasing lines of evidence have indicated the link between MBI and early
AD pathologies including Aβ and tau.
Objective: This narrative review aims to summarize the advantages of MBI over other concept of
psychiatric and behavioral symptoms associated with AD in the early prediction of AD dementia. We
also discuss the possible common genetic basis and pathological mechanisms underlying the interactions
between MBI and AD.
Methods: Papers cited here were retrieved from PubMed up to February 2022. We selected a total of
95 articles for summary and discussion.
Results: The occurrence of MBI is mainly due to the overlapped genetic and pathological risk factors
with AD and is related to the brain's response to environmental stressors. MBI may be a warning sign
for the early pathology of AD, and more attention should be paid on the number and duration of MBI
symptoms.
Conclusion: MBI may be an early sign and predictor of Alzheimer's disease dementia. Early intervention
for MBI may have a positive effect on alleviating long-term cognitive decline.
