Alzheimer's or Lewy Body Dementia? (Part 1 of 3)

When someone like Harry Lewis is showing signs of dementia, we assume it’s Alzheimer’s. Books, movies and multimillion dollar celebrity-supported advertising campaigns have raised awareness of Alzheimer’s, but most of us don’t know anything about Lewy body dementias (LBDs). But maybe we should pay more attention to Lewy bodies:

• 20 to 25 percent of people with dementia have dementia with Lewy bodies (Lewy Body Dementia Association estimate)

• An estimated 30 percent of people with Alzheimer’s also have Lewy bodies in their brains at autopsy (Florida Brain Bank data presented at ICAD 2008)

• Parkinson’s disease (which affects more than 4 million people worldwide) is also a Lewy body disorder. Almost everyone with Parkinson’s develops some problems with memory and thinking. Estimates of how many eventually develop full-blown “Parkinson’s Disease with Dementia” range from 33 to 78 percent.

Even though the percentage of dementia patients with Lewy bodies is high, this often goes undiagnosed. Part 2 of this series will explore why diagnosis is so difficult.

Read Part 2 of this series

Read Part 3 of this series

Comments

[carol a hunt]

do you have any readings that discuss how head trauma can exaccerbate symptoms of dementia? Please provide article or bibliography for my search. I am a RN and medical case manager with such a case. Thank you. C. Hunt,
5077 Palomar Dr. Flint, Mi. 48507
carolhunt2@netzero.net

[Mona Johnson]

Hi Carol,
Of course, I'm not a medical expert, but here is a piece I wrote about head injuries:

http://www.tangledneuron.info/the_tangled_neuron/2007/03/head_injuries_a.html

You may have already done this, but you could contact the Brain Injury Association of America (http://www.biausa.org/) to see if they could help.

Hope this is helpful…

Mona

[Dianne Catoe]

Is there help with stiffness of the joints for Lewy Body. MY husband has Lewy body was what the doctor said it could be.

[Mona Johnson]

Hi Dianne,

I'm not a medical expert, and so can't answer your question. The Lewy Body Dementia Assocation (www.lbda.org) might be able to help you out, though - they are a great source of information.

Good luck,

Mona

[Claudia]

Is there a way to physically diagnose LBD?

[Mona Johnson]

Hi Claudia,

I've written about diagnosis in part 2 of this series - hope that's helpful. The best source of information is the Lewy Body Dementia Association (www.lbda.org) - I'm sure they can answer your question in detail.

Take care,

Mona