Dementia With Lewy Bodies ( Dlb ) - 1473 Words

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a type of dementia that shares symptoms with both Alzheimer s disease and Parkinson s disease. It may account for around 10 per cent of all cases of dementia (Alzheimer’s Society, 2016). Lewy refers to the inflammation or neuro-inflammation of the brain (Surendranathan et al, 2015). Both Parkinson s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies are age-related diseases, although onset before age 65 years is not uncommon and both diseases are more common in men than in women (Walker et al, 2015). Lewy body was named after the scientist who discovered them, and found that it is made of a protein called alpha-synuclein (Brooker and Lillyman, 2013). When this protein builds up, it keeps the brain from making the†¦show more content†¦DLB shares mental symptoms, such as confusion and loss of memory, with Alzheimer s disease and gait and slow movement, like with Parkinson s disease. For that reason it is often misdiagnosed. Accurate diagnosis is paramount for successful treatment, although this must be done with caution as people with LBD are characteristically highly sensitive to certain drugs which can worsen unpleasant symptoms or even be fatal (Lewy Body Society, 2015). The point-prevalence of dementia is roughly 25% in patients with Parkinson s disease.6 The risk of dementia increases with duration of disease and reaches 50% 10 years after diagnosis.7 Most patients who survive for more than 10 years will develop dementia.8 The incidence of dementia is roughly 100 per 1000 person-years; however, it is much lower during the first years after diagnosis.9,10 Increasing age is a risk factor for the development of dementia in patient s with Parkinson s disease, and thus the time to dementia decreases with increasing age at onset of Parkinson s disease.11 There are fewer prevalence and incidence data for dementia with Lewy bodies.