brain, spinal cord, and nerve disorders
Dementia With Lewy Bodies and Parkinson Disease Dementia
Symptoms
The symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies are very similar to those of Alzheimer disease. They include memory loss, disorientation, and problems remembering, thinking, understanding, communicating, and controlling behavior. But dementia with Lewy bodies can be distinguished by the following: In the early stages, mental function fluctuates, often dramatically, over a period of days to weeks but sometimes from moment to moment. One day, people may be alert and able to pay attention and converse coherently, and the next day, they may be drowsy, inattentive, and almost mute. People may stare into space for long periods. At first, attention and alertness may be more impaired than memory, including memory for recent events. In the early stages of this dementia, memory problems may result more from lack of attention than from actual problems remembering. More noticeable memory problems tend to occur later as the dementia progresses. People have difficulty planning, solving problems, handling complex tasks (such as managing a bank account), and using good judgment (called executive function). The ability to copy and draw may be impaired more severely than other brain functions. Psychotic symptoms, such as Hallucinations , In dementia with Lewy bodies, hallucinations are usually visual ones, which are often complex and detailed. They may include recognizable animals or people. The hallucinations are often threatening. Over half of people who have dementia with Lewy bodies have complex, bizarre delusions. Instead of relieving these symptoms, Antipsychotic drugs often make them and other symptoms worse or have other severe, sometimes life-threatening side effects, such as Like people who have Parkinson disease, people who have dementia with Lewy bodies have stiff muscles, move slowly and sluggishly, shuffle when they walk, and stoop over. Balance is easily lost, making falls more likely. Tremor also develops, but it usually develops later and causes fewer problems than it does in Parkinson disease. Problems with thinking and problems with muscles and movement usually begin within 1 year of each other. Sleep problems are common. Many people with dementia with Lewy bodies have Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder . People with this disorder act out their dreams, sometimes injuring their bed partner. The Overview of the Autonomic Nervous System may malfunction, preventing the body from regulating internal functions, such as blood pressure and body temperature. As a result, people may faint, sweat too much or too little, have a dry mouth, or have urinary problems or constipation. After symptoms appear, people usually live about 6 to 12 years. In Parkinson disease dementia (unlike in dementia with Lewy bodies), mental function typically begins to deteriorate about 10 to 15 years after problems with muscles and movement appear. As in other dementias, many mental functions can be affected. Memory is impaired, and people have difficulty paying attention and processing information. People think more slowly. Problems with planning and doing complex tasks occur earlier and are more common than in Alzheimer disease. Hallucinations and delusions are less common and/or less severe than in dementia with Lewy bodies. In Parkinson disease dementia, problems with balance and walking and falls are more common, and muscle problems (such as stiffness and slowed movements) worsen more rapidly than in Parkinson disease without dementia. 