Lewy Body Dementia Causes Of Death – Although Lewy body dementia (LBD) is more common than people think, it is not for many people familiar to people like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s, or even muscular dementia. The disease came into national attention shortly after it was revealed that comedian Robin Williams suffered from LBD before his death.
Sometimes called Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), there are several causes for the relative prevalence of LBD. Finding an LBD can be a challenging process. There can be a lot of difference in the way the disease appears in the beginning, which can make it look like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or psychiatric syndrome. There are usually three different presentations. Some begin with memory or cognitive impairment similar to Alzheimer’s disease, but over time, experience more specific symptoms. Others first experience movement problems, often leading to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, but later develop symptoms of dementia and other features of LBD. It is more rare, but some others may also have neuropsychiatric symptoms first (for example, hallucinations, behavior problems, problems with complex mental activity). Despite the differences in how the disease initially manifests itself, individuals with LBD often experience similar problems with cognition, sleep, movement and behavior.
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Lewy Body Dementia Causes Of Death
LBD is a spectrum disorder. This means that it can be alone, but more often, it is found in combination with Parkinson’s Disease to create “Parkinson’s Disease with Lewy bodies”, or it can be combined with Alzheimer’s disease creating something called ” Mixed dementia”. Like many other types of dementia, Lewy bodies is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease, meaning it tends to get worse over time.
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According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), the disease accounts for up to 20 percent of dementia cases in the US. Up to 1.3 million cases of LBD have been diagnosed in the US alone, with only 30-50 percent of cases of LBD. properly assessed, especially in dementia institutions.
In the early 1900s, Friederich H. Lewy, a German scientist studying Parkinson’s disease, discovered the abnormal protein deposits that interfered with brain function. These abnormal protein deposits eventually became known as Lewy bodies, although the name was not adopted until after Lewy’s death.
While abnormal groups of proteins in the brain are thought to be the cause – or at least the main symptom – of many types of dementia, the type of protein in LBD is different, as is the part of the brain affected. first. When these clusters, or Lewy bodies, develop in brain cells, LBD develops.
There are times when abnormal brain changes occur in different parts of the brain at the same time, which can cause LBD and even Alzheimer’s or dementia. As noted earlier, the combination of different types of dementia is often called Mixed Dementia.
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In the early stages of Alzheimer’s, memory loss is the predominant symptom, while LBD’s memory may function well. Attention and alertness, however, can be impaired in LBD, making symptoms easy to confuse with memory problems.
In addition, the diseases are characterized by the accumulation of various proteins in the brain. In both cases, these brain proteins are faulty and cause clumps. In Alzheimer’s, these clumps are called plaques and tangles, caused by the proteins tau and amyloid. LBD shows the presence of Lewy bodies, which are misfolded alpha-synuclein proteins.
The symptoms of LBD can be similar to the patterns of cognitive decline common in Alzheimer’s, but people with LBD are more likely than people with Alzheimer’s to have the following early symptoms:
While anyone in the advanced stages of Alzheimer’s can experience hallucinations, visual hallucinations are more common in LBD and can occur earlier in the disorder.
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Sleep behavior is also often a problem with LBD, but not with Alzheimer’s disease. Sleep Behavior Disorder can cause individuals to have physical dreams, which can be frightening and/or dangerous. There is a risk of harm or bed partners, and this behavior can begin years, or even decades, before LBD symptoms appear.
People who are familiar with Parkinson’s disease often see someone with LBD and think they have Parkinson’s. This is because many neurological symptoms can be similar, especially with movement and coordination problems.
Both disorders can also include body stiffness and muscle stiffness, very slow movements that include a “frozen” posture, tremors, limp posture, blank eyes, mixed intelligence, movement problems and a weak voice.
However, LBD is different from Parkinson’s, and one way to differentiate the diseases is by the initial symptoms. Individuals with LBD are likely to show typical neurological symptoms earlier, while those with Parkinson’s are more likely to experience problems with movement and motor skills earlier.
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People with LBD are likely to have altered cognition. They can also have visual communication, as well as communication that involves smell, pleasure, sound, and touch. They can be reckless, sometimes develop mood disorders and become delusional. As they say, sleep disturbances are common, as they are in Alzheimer’s, but in LBD they can lead to vivid dreams and nightmares.
As LBD progresses, people with the disease will share many of the same problems as people with Alzheimer’s. They have progressive memory loss, and cognitive ability can also suffer. They will lose the ability to make good decisions, or lose their ability to have an accurate reflection of their actions. In addition, confusion with time and space will occur, as well as loss of originality and most language skills.
One day I went to the nursing home where my father lived. It was probably the fourth year after the diagnosis, and as soon as I opened the door, I heard the noise. I ran and saw that he had the hand of one of the helpers. The nurses were trying to pull him out, and he was fighting them. Dad has an amazing grip almost to the end, even as his body is damaged.
I came out of his sight and started saying his name. It took him a while to focus, but he finally did. I said, “Dad, it’s not good, I’m here now, you can let me go.” Rather let your hand go. I immediately pulled him away from the people to calm him down. I asked him what was wrong, and he had trouble saying what it was. In an epiphany, I asked, “Father what do you see?” He immediately replied, “You tried to cut the boy!” The moral of the story is that when people act sometimes, it may not be pure madness. He noticed that he cut a child and, of course, intervened. It was not out of his mind. It was a reaction to what he saw.
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Encourage caregivers to consider this when experiencing any type of violence or incident. Ask them what they see. You may be able to prevent the problem quickly once you see what they see. This also shows the vividness and reality of LBD-type hallucinations. – Paul
According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, LBD is widely underestimated, in part because it shares some characteristics with Alzheimer’s disease, which is more common, and in part because of the lack of awareness of this type of dementia. LBD can be confused with Alzheimer’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, and may be present in conjunction with Parkinson’s disease.
The diagnosis may be further complicated by the fact that individuals or their family members may be particularly reluctant to report specific symptoms, due to embarrassment or fear. However, even when they describe all their symptoms, there is a chance that medical professionals can diagnose the patient.
The most common diagnosis of Lewy bodies involves multiple trips (six appointments in total) to at least three doctors. And even then, half of the diagnoses took more than twelve months to process. We recommend seeing a specialist, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, geriatrician, or neuropsychologist to get a proper diagnosis.
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My late wife has lived with LBD for 10 years. Her dementia was diagnosed as “unspecified dementia” for 7 years. He was finally diagnosed with LBD three years before he died in 2011. It was a blessing to learn about LBD and the proper treatment for his disease. Knowing how to properly care for your LBD symptoms allows you to live with LBD in relative peace and comfort. This part of our journey living with LBD has progressed in part because of the help and support I have received from a local LBD-specific advocacy group. – Thomas
Does everyone with DLB hallucinate? My father has a recent diagnosis of DLB ​​but it is not symptomatic. Does this mean your diagnosis is wrong?
Can you sleep well? My husband was very tired in the afternoon. Are there ways to deal with these symptoms?
My doctor is not familiar with DLB, how can he get the necessary information to make an accurate diagnosis?
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What is the best way to get DLB patients involved in activities to help improve them if they don’t want to?
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