title: Familial occurrence of dementia and parkinsonism: a systematic review.
abstract: Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are common clinical dementias characterized neuropathologically by the presence of cortical Lewy body pathology and with distinct clinical and neurobiological similarities. Importantly, genetic factors seem to play a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. In the current article, we examine the evidence for a genetic component to DLB and PDD by reviewing studies of familial PDD and DLB as well as familial coincidental PDD and DLB, and report the genes involved. There is a convincing genetic overlap between both syndromes, suggesting that they share a common etiological factor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin Wilhelm
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Kurz
authors.forename: Anna Melissa
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Schlitter
authors.forename: Jan Petter
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Larsen
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ballard
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aarsland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003704:Dementia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors