Agitation and impulsivity in mid and late life as possible risk markers for incident dementia.

Bateman, Daniel R; Gill, Sascha; Hu, Sophie; Foster, Erin D; Ruthirakuhan, Myuri T; Sellek, Allis F; Mortby, Moyra E; Matušková, Veronika; Ng, Kok Pin; Tarawneh, Rawan M; Freund-Levi, Yvonne; Kumar, Sanjeev; Gauthier, Serge; Rosenberg, Paul B; Ferreira de Oliveira, Fabricio; Devanand, D P; Ballard, Clive; Ismail, Zahinoor

To identify knowledge gaps regarding new-onset agitation and impulsivity prior to onset of cognitive impairment or dementia the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment Neuropsychiatric Syndromes (NPS) Professional Interest Area conducted a scoping review. Extending a series of reviews exploring the pre-dementia risk syndrome Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI), we focused on late-onset agitation and impulsivity (the MBI impulse dyscontrol domain) and risk of incident cognitive decline and dementia. This scoping review of agitation and impulsivity pre-dementia syndromes summarizes the current biomedical literature in terms of epidemiology, diagnosis and measurement, neurobiology, neuroimaging, biomarkers, course and prognosis, treatment, and ongoing clinical trials. Validations for pre-dementia scales such as the MBI Checklist, and incorporation into longitudinal and intervention trials, are needed to better understand impulse dyscontrol as a risk factor for mild cognitive impairment and dementia.