This protocol applies to patients with mild vascular cognitive impairment (vMCI) — characterised by cognitive decline from a prior level of functioning without significant impairment of basic or instrumental activities of daily living — who also present with depressive and anxious symptoms.
The recommended first step for managing the depressive and anxious symptoms in this population is a structured psychological therapy delivered as a monotherapy. The protocol specifies which modalities qualify and the criteria for selecting among them — the complete algorithm is available via the link below.
For patients with mild VCI it is reasonable to consider either cognitive-behavioural therapy, interpersonal therapy or behavioural activation as one of the first-line treatments for depressive and anxious symptoms, as a monotherapy.
Mild vascular neurocognitive disorder (vascular mild cognitive impairment, vMCI) includes cognitive decline from a previous level of cognitive functioning without significant impairment of basic activities of daily living (bADLs) and/or instrumental activities of daily living (iADLs).
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