Mild cognitive impairment is diagnosed when objective testing shows cognitive performance below expectation for age and education, but daily independence is preserved. That preserved function is what separates it from dementia, and it is the whole distinction. Assessment includes a history from someone close to you, formal cognitive testing, and a deliberate search for reversible contributors.
Mild cognitive impairment is diagnosed when objective testing shows cognitive performance below expectation for age and education, but daily independence is preserved. That preserved function is what separates it from dementia, and it is the whole distinction. Assessment includes a history from someone close to you, formal cognitive testing, and a deliberate search for reversible contributors.
Someone with mild cognitive impairment performs worse than expected on formal testing and usually notices it themselves, or a family member does. What they retain is independence: managing finances, medications, driving, appointments and the household much as before, perhaps with more effort or more lists. Once those activities are genuinely compromised, the diagnosis becomes dementia. That boundary sounds administrative but it changes prognosis, treatment discussions and eligibility for research studies.
Mild cognitive impairment is described as amnestic when memory is the affected domain and non-amnestic when the difficulty lies in language, attention, executive function or visuospatial ability. It is also described as single-domain or multiple-domain. That profile carries information: amnestic multiple-domain impairment is associated with a higher likelihood of progressing to Alzheimer's disease, whereas other patterns point in other directions. Neuropsychological testing is what produces the profile, and it is available within the practice's memory service.
A meaningful proportion of people with mild cognitive impairment remain stable, and some improve, particularly where a contributing cause is found and treated. That makes the reversible-cause search more consequential at this stage than almost any other: thyroid function, vitamin B12, sleep apnoea, depression, alcohol and the full medication list, since anticholinergic burden and polypharmacy are common and modifiable. Follow-up at intervals is part of the diagnosis, because the trajectory over a year tells you what a single assessment cannot.
Clinical Neurology Specialists has been physician-owned since 1998, when Leo Germin, M.D., FAANEM founded it. Five board-certified neurologists and four advanced practice providers see patients at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices, each with its own AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratory.
Clinical Neurology Specialists is an adult outpatient neurology practice for patients 18 and older. The practice performs no surgery and operates no imaging suite, infusion suite or interventional pain programme, and provides no emergency or inpatient care.
Physician-reviewed. Reviewed by the physicians of Clinical Neurology Specialists — board-certified neurologists, AANEM-accredited electrodiagnostic laboratories, physician-owned since 1998. Reviewed 1 August 2026. This article is general education for adults 18 and older and is not a substitute for a consultation.
Sources and further reading: MedlinePlus: memory; National Institute on Aging; MedlinePlus: Alzheimer disease.
Adults 18 and older, at the Las Vegas and Henderson offices. Call 702-804-1212 or request an appointment online.