Welcome to episode 15 of my series of Tiny Talks about dementia,
And today I will focus on Lewy body dementia or LBD.
It is estimated that LBD is the third most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's syndrome and vascular dementia.
We say estimated because the cause of brain loss cannot be determined with certainty until after dREF,
And not everyone will undergo study of the brain after being deceased.
In addition,
We do not always see a clear image that identifies one specific cause of the symptoms of the dementia.
LBD accounts for 5 to 10% of all dementia cases.
The brain abnormalities that define LBD are named after Frederick H.
Lewy,
A neurologist who discovered them whilst working in Dr.
Alawi's Alzheimer's laboratory during the early 1900s.
Lewy bodies consist of alpha-sunaclan protein,
Which is found widely in the brain,
But of which we do not know the function.
Some sources say there are two types of LBD,
Namely dementia with Lewy body and Parkinson's with dementia.
I will discuss Parkinson's related dementia in a separate Tiny Talk,
But clearly there are communalities between the two conditions.
As with vascular and frontotemporal dementia,
Memory loss may not be the most pronounced symptom of Lewy body dementia.
Here is a list of possible symptoms.
Delusions,
Sleep disturbances,
Well-formed visual hallucinations,
Changes in thinking and reasoning,
Trouble interpreting visual information,
Malfunctions of the autonomic nervous system,
Confusion and alertness that varies between days,
And slowness,
Gait imbalance and other Parkinsonian features.
LBD often occurs above the age of 50.
Earlier however is possible,
But rare.
Contrary to Alzheimer's disease,
LBD is more common in men than in women.
Like the other dementias it results in a progressive deterioration.
Again when reading up on this topic,
I notice the depressing sentence,
There is no known way to stop the progression of the disease.
Apparently adaptations of the physical and social environment are often still ignored.
Without any such treatment,
People tend to live between 5 and 7 years after receiving a diagnosis of LBD.
Some people are known to live another 20 years though.
