BioScience Trends. 2024;18(5):409-412. (DOI: 10.5582/bst.2024.01304)

Blocking progression from intervenable mild cognitive impairment to irreversible dementia, what can we do?

Peng YH, Song PP, Karako T, Asakawa T


SUMMARY

With the rapid growth of the elderly population, dementia has become a global challenge that governments must address. Given the incurable nature of dementia, rehabilitation interventions starting in the mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage may offer a solution. For a rehabilitation intervention to be implemented as early as possible, existing problems of identification of MCI and development of MCI-specific forms of rehabilitation must be addressed. Use of computer technologies such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence might be helpful in overcoming these problems. Multi-disciplinary integrated approaches to rehabilitation should be the direction that dementia-related rehabilitation takes in the future. In addition to early rehabilitation, prevention of cognitive decline through the development of public community-based services for the elderly might be a more reasonable approach.


KEYWORDS: dementia, mild cognitive impairment, virtual reality, rehabilitation, elderly care facilities

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