Dementia with Lewy bodies: current concepts.
As life expectancy continues to increase over time, dementia is becoming an increasingly more common problem and a major cause of disability in older persons. It is now more important than ever to identify and manage common causes of dementia given variations in disease course, treatments and the possibility for modification of risk factors. Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is a dementia syndrome characterized by progressive cognitive decline, with fluctuating cognition, recurrent detailed and well-formed hallucinations, and parkinsonism. This article aims to provide an overview of current concepts of DLB, including a description of the key clinical features and neuropathology, neurochemistry, and genetics of DLB, then a discussion of the relationship of DLB with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and, finally, a summary of current management strategies available for this disorder.
Buracchio
Teresa
T
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Ill 6012, USA.
Arvanitakis
Zoe
Z
Gorbien
Martin
M
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology