What kind of condition is dementia with lewy bodies?

Bad problem: Lewy body disease is one of the most common causes of dementia in the elderly. Dementia is the loss of mental functions severe enough to affect normal activities and relationships. Lewy body disease happens when abnormal structures, called lewy bodies, build up in areas of the brain. The disease may cause a wide range of symptoms, including, changes in alertness and attention, hallucinations.

Less well known: Lewy body dementia often starts with visual hallucinations and as it progresses a person develops some of movement problems seen in parkinsons disease. Memory retrieval is slowed. There is a waxing and waning of symptoms throughout the day. A person can have lbd and alzheimers at the same time.

DLB: Or dementia with lewy bodies is a progressive dementia with a combination of fluctuating cognition, recurrent visual hallucinations, spontaneous extra pyramidal signs, rem sleep behavior disorder and antipsychotic sensitivity. All of that said, it is a dementia that requires slightly different treatment than alzheimer's dementia.

Brief Details.......: Neurodegenerative d/o featuring milder physical parkinsonism than parkinson's disease typically. (slowed movements, stiff/rigid muscles & posture, possibly resting tremor). But with early dementia, often with associated psychosis (visual hallucinations, delusional thoughts), excessive sleepiness, depression/anxiety/apathy, & rbd. Rbd = rem behavior d/o, causing acting-out of dreams in rem sleep.

BUT, Rx available!!!: Dopamine meds for physical parkinsonism: Azilect (mao-b selective inhibitor) & sinemet +/- Comtan (stalevo (carbidopa and levodopa and entacapone) is both together). Tailor rx watching for side effects. Avoid Dopamine agonists (requip xl/mirapex er/neupro)--too side effect prone for lewy body patients. For dementia: namenda, paired with Exelon patch or aricept. For psychosis: seroquel or even clozaril. For excess sleepiness: nuvigil.