Cognitive impairment and dementia constitute one of the health issues that arise in old age, thus being a geriatric syndrome. Until a few years ago, mild cognitive impairment was associated with the natural aging process and was detected in advanced stages of the disease. Currently, thanks largely to media coverage and in-depth study of the disease, these patients are being evaluated at increasingly early stages, thereby making it possible to impact the course and the social environment of the patient and their family.

Evaluation

To ascertain if there is indeed cognitive impairment, it is necessary to understand the cognitive losses that occur in normal aging.
The non-pathological changes in a healthy individual include:
— Memory: working, episodic, and free recall memory are affected, while iconic (short-term), recognition, facilitated recall, semantic, implicit, and prospective memory are preserved.
— Language: naming deteriorates and verbal fluency decreases, but syntax and lexicon are preserved. Reasoning, problem-solving ability, and information processing speed decline with age. Attention is
— Preserved. Generally, clinical evaluation is carried out due to complaints of memory loss by the patient or their family. However, it would be advisable for every elderly patient to undergo a regular brief check-up to detect cognitive impairment.

Por lo general, la evaluación clínica se realiza debido a quejas de perdida de memoria por parte del paciente o la familia. No obstante, sería conveniente que todo paciente anciano pasara regularmente un breve chequeo para detectar el deterioro cognitivo.

Aspects of Cognitive Impairment

For diagnosis, it is important to identify different aspects of cognitive impairment, such as some of the following:
— Difficulty in learning and retaining new information.
— Difficulty with complex tasks, especially planning.
— Reasoning ability (being resolutive in unforeseen problems).
— Orientation.
— Language (dysomias, anomas, paraphrases).
— Behavior

Being aware of these symptoms will help you identify if your relative may have cognitive impairment. We also recommend performing a general evaluation periodically for early disease detection.

Remember that as a senior clinic we specialize in medical care for older adults. For more information about our services for your loved ones. Remember you can contact us through our social networks.(Facebook,, Instagram and WhatsApp)and email. Or schedule your appointment here. Senior Citizen Clinic, accompanying you towards an active and healthy old age. hereSenior Citizen Clinic, accompanying you towards an active and healthy old age.