Dementia with Lewy Bodies: Trying to Define a Disease
Although AD and vascular dementias have been regarded as the major dementias of late life, increased research in neurodegeneration has resulted in the identification of a dementia symptom complex characterized by rapid progression of dementia, visual hallucinations, Parkinsonism, and fluctuations in dementia severity, alertness, and attention, and it is referred to as Lewy Body Dementia.
Why is this important for the general neurologist to know? First, the above findings suggest that the second most common neurodegenerative dementia seen in a neurologist's clinical practice is DLB in some form. Second, knowledge of this syndrome can enable proper diagnosis of a dementia case with puzzling symptoms or course, and DLB is not an uncommon dementia. The symptoms, evolution, rate of cognitive change, response to therapy, and genetic risks may be different in DLB than in other neurodegenerative dementias. Some commonly used medications, such as neuroleptics, may be contraindicated in these cases. As new medications emerge for AD, the neurologist will need to know whether and how they should be given to DLB patients.
Materials and Methods
Recent neuropathologic studies found Lewy bodies (LB) in the brainstem and cortex of 15%25% of all elderly demented patients (the largest pathologic subgroup after pure Alzheimer's disease [AD).
Formal testing is essential for establishing diagnosis, and detailed testing may reveal a deficit profile that identifies and distinguishes DLB.What are the
relevant clinical criteria for DLB that neurologists should know?
They
consist of one required symptom (central feature), the presence of one
(for possible DLB) or two (for probable DLB) of three clinical (core) features,
and a list of six other symptoms that are supportive of the diagnosis (Table
1). The patient must have dementia meeting DSM-IV criteria. The National
Institute of Neurological Communicative Disorders and Stroke-Alzeimer's
Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria [1] may
be useful, but since early in DLB the dementia may not necessarily include
loss of recent memory, patients could meet criteria for DLB without necessarily
meeting the NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. It is for this reason that in cases
where DLB is suspected, more detailed neuropsychologic testing should be
done. Even in patients who do not display memory loss early, recent memory
function eventually becomes significantly impaired.
Clinical Criteria
for the Diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB): ---> Central feature
Dementia: Required for DLB diagnosis; must interfere with social and or
occupational function----> Core features
1. Variation in cognition, attention, or alertness (not due to delirium
or medical illness)
2. Detailed, recurrent well-formed visual hallucinations
3. Repeated falls, syncope, transient loss of consciousness,
4. Delusions or hallucinations
Comment: One of the three required for possible DLB;
Guidelines
for the Clinical and Pathologic Diagnosis of Dementia with Lewy Bodies
(DLB):
Article by I. G. McKeith, M.D.,* D. Galasko, M.D., K. Kosaka, M.D., E.
K. Perry, D.Sc., D. W. Dickson, M.D., L. A. Hansen, M.D., D. P. Salmon,
Ph.D., J. Lowe, D.M., S. S. Mirra, M.D., E. J. Byrne, M.R.C. Psych., G.
Lennox, M.D., N. P. Quinn, M.D., J. A. Edwardson, Ph.D., P. G. Ince, M.D.,
C. Bergeron, M.D., A. Burns, M.D., B. L. Miller, M.D., S. Lovestone, M.R.C.
Psych., D. Collerton, M.Sc., E. N. H. Jansen, M.D., C. Ballard, M.D., R.
A. I. de Vos, M.D., G. K. Wilcock, D.M., K. A. Jellinger, M.D., and R.
H. Perry, D.Sc., for the Consortium on Dementia with Lewy Bodies; Neurology
1996;47:11131124
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