Mild behavioral impairment: Presentation of the diagnostic criteria and the Italian version of the MBI-Checklist

SUMMARY. Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) are common in the prodromal stage of dementia and can precede the onset of cognitive impairment. The presence of NPS in cognitively normal patients or in patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is associated with an increased risk of progression along the neurodegenerative process. The need to identify, in the early stages of the disease, the population at risk of cognitive decline has led to the formulation of the concept of Mild Behavioral Impairment (MBI). This neurobehavioral syndrome is characterized by late-onset sustained psychiatric symptoms, in patients without cognitive deficits or in those with MCI, identifying a condition associated with an increased probability of conversion into dementia. MBI represents the neurobehavioral axis of pre-dementia risk states, as a complement to the neurocognitive axis of MCI. For some, MBI may be the initial manifestation of neurodegenerative disease, observed before cognitive impairment is apparent. The Mild Behavioral Impairment-Checklist (MBI-C) was developed on the basis of the MBI diagnostic criteria, established by the International Society to Advance Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment (ISTAART). The MBI-C allows to identify, in a standardized way, patients with MBI and to follow the course of their neurodegenerative disease. This article describes the creation of the MBI-C scale and presents its Italian version.