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Semin Neurol 2021; 41(06): 686-698
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1726354
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1726354
Review Article
A Neurologist's Practical Approach to Cognitive Impairment
Funding This study was funded, in part, by the David Eisenberg Professorship from Mayo Foundation for N.G-R. and National Institutes of Health K23AG064029 for G.S.D.
Abstract
The global prevalence of dementia is expected to triple by the year 2050. This impending health care crisis has led to new heights of public awareness and general concern regarding cognitive impairment. Subsequently, clinicians are seeing more and more people presenting with cognitive concerns. It is important that clinicians meet these concerns with a strategy promoting accurate diagnoses. We have diagramed and described a practical approach to cognitive impairment. Through an algorithmic approach, we determine the presence and severity of cognitive impairment, systematically evaluate domains of function, and use this information to determine the next steps in evaluation. We also discuss how to proceed when cognitive impairment is associated with motor abnormalities or rapid progression.
Authors' Contributions
P.W.T.: Manuscript writing; G.S.D.: Manuscript writing and editing; N.G-R.: Manuscript writing and editing.
Publication History
Article published online:
26 November 2021
© 2021. Thieme. All rights reserved.
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