Longitudinal study of eye movements in patients with mild cognitive impairment

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate MCI patients changes in saccadic eye movements and their relationship with cognitive functions longitudinally in a two-year follow-up. Method: The study included 19 MCI and 15 HC. Neuropsychological test battery was applied to each participant 24.9 ± 2.2 months apart and eye movements were recorded. Results: From the MCI group, three aMCI patients were admitted to AD. It was observed that one participant from the HC group progressed to nonaMCI. It was observed that the anti-saccade latency was significantly increased in HCs, while the anti-saccade latency was significantly increased in HCs. In longitudinal follow-up, there was no significant change in the measurement of other eye movements. In cognitive functions, a significant decrease was observed in the averages of the MMSE results of MCI subgroups. Significant relationships were found between the changes in eye movements and cognitive functions of both groups and subgroups of MCI. Conclusion: The changes in the eye movements of patients with MCI and HC may be related to changes in cognitive functions. The absence of significant changes in eye movements indicated the necessity to conduct studies with larger samples. The importance of longer longitudinal follow-up was emphasized due to the cases in which the change in the course of the disease was observed. Keywords: Mild Cognitive Impairment, Eye Movements, Neuropsychological Assessment, Longitudinal Study