[Lewy body dementia].
Newer estimations indicate a considerable increase in the number of elderly people with dementia and Lewy body dementia (DLB) in Denmark. Simultaneously, the prescription of antipsychotics to elderly patients remains very high in Denmark. This report reflects on the importance of keeping DLB in mind when physicians encounter elderly demented patients with visual hallucinations, fluctuations and parkinsonism, as 50% of patients with DLB have severe sensitivity to antipsychotics. With new clinical criteria including SPECT of dopaminergic transporters, diagnosis has become sufficiently accurate to differentiate between the two diagnoses.
Ziebell
Morten
M
Neurobiologisk Forskningsenhed, Afdeling N 9201, Rigshospitalet, 2100 København Ø, Denmark. ziebell@nru.dk
Korbo
Lise
L
Hasselbalch
Steen G
SG
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis; D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
D014150:Antipsychotic Agents; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins