title: Early and presenting symptoms of dementia with lewy bodies.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the presenting and early symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with mild dementia fulfilling diagnostic criteria for DLB (n = 61) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n = 109) were recruited from outpatient dementia clinics in western Norway. At diagnosis, caregivers were asked which symptom had been the presenting symptom of dementia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Caregivers reported that memory impairment was the most common presenting symptom in DLB (57%), followed by visual hallucinations (44%), depression (34%), problem solving difficulties (33%), gait problems (28%), and tremor/stiffness (25%). In contrast, 99% of AD carers reported impaired memory as a presenting symptom, whereas visual hallucinations were a presenting symptom in 3% of the AD cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  DLB should be suspected in predementia cases with visual hallucinations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Akershus University Hospital, Lorenskog, Norway.
authors.forename: Eirik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Auning
authors.forename: Arvid
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rongve
authors.forename: Tormod
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fladby
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Booij
authors.forename: Tibor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hortobágyi
authors.forename: Françoise J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Siepel
authors.forename: Clive
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ballard
authors.forename: Dag
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aarsland
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology; D017028:Caregivers; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003693:Delirium / Q000209:etiology; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D020233:Gait Disorders, Neurologic / Q000209:etiology; D006212:Hallucinations / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009664:Norway; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon; D014202:Tremor / Q000209:etiology; D014326:Tropanes
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D014326:Tropanes; C087552:2-carbomethoxy-8-(3-fluoropropyl)-3-(4-iodophenyl)tropane