Lewy Body Dementia's (LBD)

Lewy body dementia:

Lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex cause dementia symptoms to appear, along with physical, perceptual and behavioral problems. Unlike Alzheimer's mostly cognitive symptoms, LBD's symptoms affect many parts of the body.

LBD is an umbrella term for two very similar types of dementia: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB)and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PD).

Living with Lewy Body Dementia, A personal example, with Dr. Fereman and Dr Dickson of Mayo Clinic. (describes early signs, present situation, diagnosis and research.)

Lewy Body Dementia: Mysteries Unveiled, by the LBDA. A good overview.

Dementia with Lewy bodies:

About half the time, the Lewy bodies start in the cerebral cortex.

Symptoms: Symptoms will be unique to each person. No two persons will have the same symptoms and no person will have all symptoms.

  • Those common to all dementias, with the cognitive and behavioral symptoms appearing before any motor symptoms.
  • Those common to all Lewy body disorders
  • Memory loss, involving the ability to remember how to do tasks. For example, a person with DLB may be able to name a toothbrush but not remember how to use it.
  • Loss of executive functions: thinking, planning, judgment.
  • Early BPSD
  • Delusions, depression, anxiety
  • Hallucinations, usually visual, believed to be real
  • REM sleep behavior disorder (active dreams)
  • Behaviors resulting from these Lewy body related symptoms

Lewy Body Dementia: Most Common Disorder You’ve Never Heard Of, by Dr. Boeve of the Mayo Clinic. 

Parkinson's disease with dementia:

About half the time, Lewy bodies in the mid-brain migrate to the cerebral cortex.

Symptoms:

 Treatment for both types of LBD is the same.

Medical:

Cognitive Issues (DLB and PDD):

  • Drugs used for Alzheimer's work as well or better with LBD
  • BPSD drugs and certain others should be used with great care, if at all, due to the possibility of drug sensitivity.

Motor Issues:

  • As with Parkinson's except:
  • PD drugs tend to cause drug sensitivity. As Lewy bodies increase, choice may be: more mobility or more cognition.

For more information on Lewy-sensitive drugs, click here.

Non-medical remedies

A more detailed explanation can be found in our book, Managing Cognitive Issues in Parkinson's & Lewy Body Dementia.

Lewy Body Disease - A Typical Case (Coming from Australia, this discussion of symptoms is great content but far to short, and for some, may be a bit difficult to understand with the Australian accent.

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The LBDtools Learning Center
Non Drug Options
The Disorders
Resources and Links
The Dementia's
Being a Responsive Care Partner

A Special Caregiver's LBDtools.com Offer!

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The Caregivers Guide to Lewy Body Dementia by award winning authors Helen and James Whitworth is the first book to present a thorough picture of Lewy body dementia in everyday language.

Responsive Dementia Care: Fewer Behaviors, Fewer Drugs provides family and professional caregivers with tools for dealing with difficult dementia-related behaviors.

This trio pack is rounded out with the UPDATED Riding a Rollercoaster With Lewy Body Dementia, the Whitworth's manual for caregivers of LBD patients.

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