Lewy Body Dementia
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Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Alzheimer Dementia
- Vascular Dementia
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Frontotemporal Dementia
- Parkinson Disease
- Multiple System Atrophy
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Lewy Body Dementia
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Summary
Lewy body dementia is a neurodegenerative disorder that can cause cognitive decline. Symptoms include hallucinations and parkinsonism, the latter of which is worsened markedly by antipsychotics. Additionally, patients with lewy body dementia can also present with attention deficits. This dementia is diagnosed through a brain biopsy, which can reveal the presence of lewy bodies made up of aggregated, clumped alpha-synuclein proteins.
Key Points
- Lewy Body Dementia
- Pathophysiology
- Neurodegeneration caused by intraneuronal chemical deposits
- Presentation
- Fluctuating cognition with attention deficits
- Executive and visuospatial dysfunction may be seen, but attention deficits are most common
- Visual hallucinations
- Well formed visual hallucinations of people, animals, shapes, colors
- Parkinsonism
- Bradykinesia, akinesia, rigidity, gait disorder
- Usually begins <1 year from start of cognitive impairment
- Extremely sensitive to (worsened by) antipsychotics
- Rapid development of parkinsonism and confusion after starting an antipsychotic may be a sign of lewy body dementia
- Fluctuating cognition with attention deficits
- Diagnosis
- Neuropathology/Brain Biopsy
- Lewy Bodies
- Eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions made of alpha-synuclein
- Thought to contribute to parkinsonism
- Lewy Bodies
- Neuropathology/Brain Biopsy
- Treatment/Prognosis
- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors may improve symptoms
- Donepezil
- Galantamine
- Rivastigmine
- Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors may improve symptoms
- Pathophysiology