Retrospective survey of prodromal symptoms in dementia with Lewy bodies: comparison with Alzheimer's disease.
BACKGROUND
Non-motor symptoms are recognized to enable the early detection of Parkinson's disease (PD). It remains unknown when those symptoms appear in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).


METHODS
We investigated the prevalence of 15 non-motor symptoms of PD at the onset of memory loss based on a standardized worksheet in 34 patients with DLB, 32 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 30 normal controls.


RESULTS
DLB patients exhibited a significantly higher prevalence of olfactory dysfunction, constipation, increased saliva and signs of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder at the onset of memory loss than AD patients and normal controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Paying attention to non-motor symptoms of PD may help DLB diagnosis in the early stage, especially in terms of its differentiation from AD.
PET/CT Dementia Research Center, Juntendo Tokyo Koto Geriatric Medical Center, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuhei
Y
Chiba
Hiroshige
H
Fujishiro
Eizo
E
Iseki
Kazumi
K
Ota
Koji
K
Kasanuki
Yoshio
Y
Hirayasu
Kiyoshi
K
Satoa
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D001284:Atrophy; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000150:complications; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D057189:Checklist; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000523:psychology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000150:complications; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D062706:Prodromal Symptoms; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000150:complications; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology