6 Interesting Facts About Lewy Body Dementia

Lewy body Dementia, or Dementia with Lewy bodies, is the second most common type of progressive Dementia following Alzheimer’s disease. The disease is characterized by protein deposits in nerve cells in the brain regions that control thinking, memory, visual processing, and motor control.

In this article, we’re taking a deep dive into Lewy body Dementia to explore its origins, symptoms, and treatments and therapies that can help you or a loved one navigate your Dementia journey.

Fact #1: Lewy body Dementia is one of the primary causes of Dementia in older adults.

Usually beginning after age 50, Lewy body Dementia affects more than one million people in the United States. Experts have discovered that it appears to affect more men than women, making gender one of the primary risk factors. Other risk factors include advancing age and a family history of Lewy body Dementia or Parkinson’s disease.

Fact #2: Lewy body Dementia is named after the scientist Fredrich H. Lewy.

While researching Parkinson's disease in the early 20th century, the German-born American neurologist Friedrich H. Lewy discovered abnormal protein deposits on the brain later called Lewy bodies. When these Lewy body proteins build-up, they can disrupt the brain's normal functioning and cause problems with how the brain works, affecting memory, movement, thinking skills, mood, and behaviors.

Fact #3: Lewy body Dementia is a progressive disease with a range of cognitive and physical symptoms.

The symptoms of Lewy body Dementia emerge slowly and gradually worsen with time, making it a progressive disease. In the early stages, people living with this type of Dementia may experience mild symptoms that allow them to function relatively normally. As the disease advances, people may notice changes in alertness and attention or movement and posture, including confusion, hallucinations, and muscle stiffness. In the later disease stages, people living with Lewy body Dementia often depend on others for assistance and care.

• Fluctuating alertness and thinking functions
• Repeated visual hallucinations
• Parkinsonian symptoms
• REM sleep behavior disorder, where people act out dreams while sleeping

Fact #4: Lewy body Dementia can be hard to diagnose.

There is no single test to diagnose Lewy body Dementia. Doctors diagnose the disease by ruling out other conditions with similar symptoms. For instance, Lewy body disease shares similar symptoms with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, causing experts to speculate that it might be related.

Lewy body Dementia diagnostic testing may include neurological and physical exams, mental ability assessments, blood tests, brain scans, and heart tests. In addition to the test findings, a Lewy body disease diagnosis requires a progressive decline in thinking abilities and two of the following:

Fact #5: Currently, there is no cure for Lewy body Dementia, but treatments and therapies can help alleviate the symptoms.

Doctors often use medications to help people living with Lewy body Dementia. Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease medications can treat neurological and physical symptoms, while other medications can offer relief from sleep and movement problems.

Some people living with Lewy body Dementia find non-drug approaches helpful, such as modifying the environment to reduce distractions, receiving soothing responses for reassurance and following daily routines with simple tasks.

Physical, occupational, speech, and mental health therapies can also play a role in symptom relief.

Our Ginny Gives grant program provides other healing therapies that help people connect through art, music, dance, and touch.

Fact #6: There are many supportive resources available to help people living with Lewy body Dementia and their families and caretakers.

Our supportive resources provide much-needed information, local resources, and life-enrichment programs to enhance the lives of individuals and families affected by Lewy body and other types of Dementia, including:

• Truthful definitions to expand your vocabulary

• Care education to guide your decisions

• Dementia help resources to further your understanding and learn how to help

• Brain health information from reliable and trustworthy sources

• Relevant and topical streaming program for individuals and caregivers.

• No-fee memorial registration to pay tribute to a life well-lived

To learn more about our programs and offerings that can help people living with Lewy body disease and other types of Dementia, contact us online or call 1-800-DEMENTIA (1-800-336-3684).

Important Notice: Dementia Society of America (DSA) does not provide medical advice. The contents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.

Further Your Understanding: Dementia and Mood

Some people say Dementia turned their once loving and upbeat loved-one into an angry tyrant. Others may describe the changes in behavior and mood as “the same person, only more so.” Usually, “more so” is not good. Rarely does one hear that Dementia turned a difficult person into a pleasant one.

The behaviors associated with early-stage Dementia can be the most difficult. Your loved-one is fighting the imposed changes the diagnosis has brought to his or her life. And you, the family caregiver, do not have the experience to both calm your loved-one and cope with the disquiet this new relationship brings into your life.

As Dementia progresses from early to late-stage, moods, and behaviors worsen. In addition to increasing memory loss, depression, belligerence, apathy, physical aggression, wandering, repetitive questioning enters the picture.

It is useless to try to convince your loved one that what they truly believe is not what it seems. You will never win the argument.

“Distraction and redirection” is one helpful strategy to diffuse the situation. Rather than trying to prove his or her hat was misplaced and not stolen, make a comment about the nice weather and suggest going for a walk. Another way to address your loved one’s concern is to listen and tell him or her you will look into the matter. This simple tactic tells your loved-one you are there; you care, and you will make things right.

“Therapeutic deception” is another approach to managing difficult behaviors. Telling your loved one, “you will make things right,” isn’t a lie. It’s a kindness that gives him or her, and you as well, a few moments of peace. You will find a therapeutic deception is an approach you can apply to various difficult circumstances.

Dementia behaviors may also include some weird and scary things. More specifically, your loved one may experience hallucinations. How you respond to these unsettling behaviors has the potential of turning uncomfortable moments into situations that may necessitate assistance from your local police department or a trip to the emergency room.

Managing the difficult behaviors associated with hallucinations involve a different set of challenges. Telling your loved one, there isn’t any blood on the walls or bugs crawling up his or her back is fruitless. Hallucinations are sensory tricks. Your loved-one sees, hears, or feels something without the stimulus of light, sound, or touch. To prevent a difficult situation from escalating into one you cannot manage, you might say something like, “I cannot see what you see, but I am sure it is very scary.”

You might remind your loved one that you are there and that you will make sure they are safe. Sometimes a hug or a gentle touch will have a calming effect. Other times, when hallucinations cause overwhelming fear, the only thing you can do is take your parent to the emergency room.

Medication to reduce mood and behavioral difficulties is a controversial issue. Some people believe the drugs used to manage behavior are “chemical straight-jackets” meant only to make things easier for the caregiver. Other caregivers subscribe to the philosophy that providing meaningful activities for the person with Dementia, establishing a structured routine, and creating an enriching and pleasant environment can reduce the need for behavior modifying medications. In either case, one has to consider quality-of-life. Medication can reduce pain and suffering. If depression becomes overwhelming, belligerence creates a dangerous environment for the caregiver, or when hallucinations cause unrelenting terror, medication is both the humane and one that supports a better quality-of-life.

All of this is easier said than done, but do try to remember it is the disease that is speaking and not the person you once knew.

Contributor: Janet Yagoda Shagam, Ph.D., is a freelance medical and science writer and the author of “An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia.” Available through Amazon.

The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of the content contained within blog posts that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor. www.DementiaSociety.org

Symptoms for Vascular Dementia can Vary Widely

Vascular Dementia may account for 12 to 20 percent of all Dementias, and is the second most common age-related Dementia.1 Unlike the gradual progression of Alzheimer's disease, the onset of Vascular Dementia symptoms is often abrupt and occurs when a heart attack or a stroke dramatically reduces blood flow to or through the brain. Hallucinations, rather than the memory loss associated with early-stage Alzheimer's disease, is another indicator of Vascular Dementia. 

Vascular Dementia can also have a slow progression. This happens when the accumulative damage of transient ischemic attacks – often called TIAs – cause many small areas of brain damage and, eventually, noticeable symptoms. The descriptive name “multi-infarct Dementia” is the term healthcare providers use to describe this kind of Vascular Dementia. Infarcts refer to the many (multiple) areas of non-functioning brain tissue that accumulate over time. Multi-infarct Dementia is the most common type of Vascular Dementia.1  

Depending on the location within the brain, multi-infarct Dementia produces a spectrum of physical, behavioral and emotional changes. An example of a physical change is shuffling or walking with small rapid steps. Behavioral symptoms can include slurred speech, getting lost in familiar surroundings, and difficulty in following instructions. Sometimes people cry or laugh at inappropriate times. 

As you can now appreciate, telling the difference between Alzheimer's disease and Vascular Dementia can be difficult. If the changes appear rapidly, Vascular Dementia, resulting from a stroke or heart attack, is the likely culprit. To make things even more complicated, many people have both Alzheimer's disease and Vascular Dementia.

There several ways you can reduce risk for Vascular Dementia. Some of these include: maintaining a healthy blood pressure; eating a healthy, low-fat diet; maintaining a healthy weight; regular exercise; and to refrain from or stop smoking.2 It is well worth noting that all of these modifiable conditions and behaviors are ones that affect the cardiovascular system and blood flow to the brain. 

#VascularDementia #MultiInfarct #KnowDementia

Janet Yagoda Shagam, PhD, is a freelance medical and science writer and the author of  “An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia.” Available through Amazon.

The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of content contained within blog posts - that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor.  

References

Source 1, accessed March 4, 2016

Source 2, accessed March 4, 2016

How to Distinguish Dementia with Lewy Bodies From Other Types

 

Lewy Body Dementia (named after Frederich Heinrich Lewy, who in 1912 described the disease) is a spectrum disorder described by a rapid decline in the patient’s cognition and behavior. Hallucinations and delusions, as well as alterations in sleep, heart rate, and digestion are other Dementia with Lewy body characteristics. Certain subtypes of Dementia with Lewy Bodies cause people to experience shaking, rigidity, and balance difficulties.

The presence of Lewy bodies – abnormal brain deposits composed of several proteins located throughout the brain, is the post-mortem diagnostic hallmark. Dementia with Lewy bodies is a rapidly progressing disease. Death usually occurs within five to seven years of diagnosis.

Unlike Alzheimer's Disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies does not have predictable stages. Early symptoms of the disease vary. Some people first experience cognitive and memory changes similar to those associated with early Alzheimer's Disease. For other people, first symptoms may include shaking and a shuffling gait. Sometimes hallucinations are a first symptom. Therefore, a thorough medical exam plays an important role in ruling out other causes such as Parkinson's Disease or the side effects of medications used to treat other illnesses and conditions.

Responses to the medications used to treat or reduce the severity of hallucinations can inadvertently confirm a diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy bodies. Unlike people who have Alzheimer's Disease, people who have symptoms commonly associated with Dementia with Lewy bodies can have dangerous, and sometimes fatal reactions to antipsychotic medications such as haloperidol (Haldol) and risperidone (Risperdal). (See References 1 and 2 below.) This finding points to the importance of keeping detailed medical history notes and prescription records. This is especially true for first-time appointments and in the emergency room.

Lewy bodies are also found in other brain disorders such as Parkinson's Disease. Many people who have Parkinson's Disease eventually develop the thinking and reasoning difficulties associated with Dementia with Lewy bodies. Conversely, many people who have Dementia with Lewy bodies experience the shaking and shuffling gait associated with Parkinson's Disease. The overlap in symptoms and other evidence suggest that Dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's Disease and Parkinson's Disease Dementia may share underlying abnormalities.

#lewybodydementia #unpredictable #earlysymptomsvary

Janet Yagoda Shagam, PhD, is a freelance medical and science writer and the author of “An Unintended Journey: A Caregiver's Guide to Dementia.” Available through Amazon.

The opinions expressed by contributing authors are not necessarily the opinions of the Dementia Society, Inc. We do not endorse nor guarantee products, comments, suggestions, links, or other forms of content contained within blog posts - that have been provided to us with permission, or otherwise. Dementia Society does not provide medical advice. Please consult your doctor.

Source 1, accessed March 6th, 2016
Source 2, accessed March 15th, 2016