What Is The Difference Between Lewy Body Dementia And Alzheimer’s

How Is Lewy Body Dementia Treated

Theres no cure for Lewy body dementia . Medications and nonmedical therapies, like physical, occupational and speech therapies, manage symptoms as much as possible.

Medications that can help manage the symptoms of LBD include:

• Cholinesterase inhibitors: This type of medication, which includes rivastigmine, galantamine and donepezil, helps manage the cognitive symptoms of LBD.
• Carbidopa-levodopa: Symptoms of parkinsonism, like tremors, are usually treated with levodopa, a drug commonly used to treat Parkinsons disease. However, it has serious side effects and can lead to delusions, hallucinations and confusion.
• Pimavanserin: This medication can be used to treat psychosis in people with Parkinsons disease dementia.
• Clonazepamandmelatonin: These medications can help treat REM sleep behavior disorder.
• Antidepressants: Depression is common in people with LBD and often requires antidepressant therapy with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors .
• Memantine: This drug is typically used to treat dementia caused by Alzheimers disease, but its been investigated in clinical trials and may work in people with LBD who are in the early phases of the condition.

People with LBD can take part in different therapies to improve their quality of life, including:

• Individual and family psychotherapies .

A Clear Diagnosis Is Important

Cost-conscious observers of health care point out that our treatments for major neurocognitive disorders are limited in their scope and only modestly effective. Knowing the cause of a cognitive disorders will be of greatest value, they point out, once we have very specific treatment approaches for different diseases. In the case of LBD, knowing the diagnosis is of great value, because it may alert clinicians to the potentially hazardous effects that might be produced in LBD patients by high-potency antipsychotics, a class of medications still often used to treat behavioral disturbances in AD. For this reason, even if for no others, identifying LBD is already a very worthwhile endeavor. In time, diagnostic clarity should become even more valuable as future treatments are developed to target LBD specifically.

The Link Between The Two Diseases

As per the Alzheimers Association, Alzheimers disease and LBD can co-occur. Lewy bodies can be found in people with Alzheimers, and plaques and tangles, which are the key markers of Alzheimers, can occur in people with Lewy body disease.

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Now that weve established what either of the diseases is, lets see how they differ across key categories of causes, symptoms, treatment, life expectancy, risk factors, and outlook.

It must be noted, however, that research hasnt confirmed what exactly triggers the changes in the brain in either case.

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Frontotemporal Dementia With Parkinsonism

One form of familial FTD, also known as frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism-17 , is caused by genetic changes in the gene for tau protein, located on chromosome 17. No other risk factors for this condition are known.

FTDP-17 is rare and accounts for only three per cent of all cases of dementia. Symptoms progressively get worse over time and usually appear between the ages of 40 and 60. The condition affects both thinking and behavioural skills and movements such as rigidity, lack of facial expression and problems with balance .

It can be distressing to be told that you have a genetic disorder or are at risk of having one. Genetic counselling provides the person and their family with information about a genetic disorder and its likely impact on their lives. This can assist a person with FTDP-17 to make informed medical and personal decisions about how to manage their condition and the challenges it presents to their health and wellbeing. Prenatal genetic counselling is also available for parents to help them decide about a pregnancy that may be at risk of FTDP-17.

The Effects Of Alzheimers On The Brain

In people with Alzheimers disease, brain cells die and connections between brain cells may break down. One of the hallmark symptoms is abnormal protein deposits in the brain called plaques and tangles.

Plaques are dense clusters of protein that can block communication between neurons. Tangles are proteins that twist together that lead to the death of healthy brain cells.

In advanced Alzheimers, the brain shows significant shrinkage. Changes in the brain may occur a or more before symptoms start.

Its impossible to diagnose Alzheimers with complete accuracy while a person is alive. The diagnosis can only be confirmed when the brain is examined under a microscope during an autopsy. However, specialists can make the correct diagnosis up to 90 percent of the time.

The symptoms of Alzheimers and dementia can overlap, but there can be some differences.

Both conditions can cause:

• behavioral changes
• difficulty speaking, swallowing, or walking in advanced stages of the disease

Some types of dementia will share some of these symptoms, but they include or exclude other symptoms that can help make a differential diagnosis.

Lewy body dementia , for example, has many of the same later symptoms as Alzheimers. However, people with LBD but are more likely to experience initial symptoms such as visual hallucinations, difficulties with balance, and sleep disturbances.

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Causes Of Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies is caused by clumps of protein forming inside brain cells. These abnormal deposits are called Lewy bodies.

These deposits are also found in people with Parkinson’s disease, and they build up in areas of the brain responsible for functions such as thinking, visual perception and muscle movement.

It’s not clear why the deposits develop and how exactly they damage the brain. It’s thought that part of the problem is the proteins affecting the brain’s normal functions by interfering with signals sent between brain cells.

Dementia with Lewy bodies usually occurs in people with no family history of the condition, although there have been very rare cases that seem to run in families.

Alzheimers Risk Factors And Alzheimers Disease Treatments

The greatest risk factor for developing Alzheimerâs is age, but genetics and family history also play a role. After age 65, the risk of Alzheimerâs doubles every five years. 32% of people age 85 and older have Alzheimerâs Disease.

Unfortunately, there is no medication or therapy available to prevent, treat or slow the progression of Alzheimerâs. But, there are FDA approved treatments that can address symptoms, that come in two primary forms:

• Cholinesterase Inhibitors to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine which is important for memory.
• Glutamate Modulators: regulates glutamate activity which is important for information storage and retrieval.

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What Is Lewy Body Dementia Causes Symptoms And Treatments

On this page:

• Lewy body dementia research

Lewy body dementia is a disease associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain whose changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. Lewy body dementia is one of the most common causes of dementia.

LBD affects more than 1 million individuals in the United States. People typically show symptoms at age 50 or older, although sometimes younger people have LBD. LBD appears to affect slightly more men than women.

Diagnosing LBD can be challenging. Early LBD symptoms are often confused with similar symptoms found in other brain diseases or in psychiatric disorders. Lewy body dementia can occur alone or along with other brain disorders.

It is a progressive disease, meaning symptoms start slowly and worsen over time. The disease lasts an average of five to eight years from the time of diagnosis to death, but can range from two to 20 years for some people. How quickly symptoms develop and change varies greatly from person to person, depending on overall health, age, and severity of symptoms.

In the early stages of LBD, symptoms can be mild, and people can function fairly normally. As the disease advances, people with LBD require more help due to a decline in thinking and movement abilities. In the later stages of the disease, they often depend entirely on others for assistance and care.

How Does Lewy Body Dementia Differ From Alzheimers Disease

Most are familiar with Alzheimerâs disease, but chances are, if you ask anyone on the street what Lewy body dementia is, they wonât have a clue. The prevalence of dementia with Lewy bodies is unknown, but dementia experts believe that LBD accounts for between 10% and 15% of all dementia cases.

As with other forms of dementia, LBD is a progressive brain disorder. It occurs when abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein build up in the areas of the brain responsible for regulating behavior, cognition and movement. These deposits are called Lewy bodies. According to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsonâs Research, there is compelling evidence from recent studies that alpha-synuclein may also play a role in the development of both familial and sporadic cases of Parkinson’s disease. In fact, LBD shares symptoms with both Alzheimerâs and Parkinsonâs disease.

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Structural Brain Correlates Of Attention Dysfunction In Lewy Body Dementias And Alzheimers Disease

• 1Institute of Neuroscience, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
• 2NIHR In Vitro Diagnostics Co-operative, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Medical School, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
• 3Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
• 4Newcastle Magnetic Resonance Centre, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
• 5Interdisciplinary Computing and Complex BioSystems Research Group, School of Computing, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
• 6Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge School of Medicine, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Tests For Dementia With Lewy Bodies

There’s no single test for dementia with Lewy bodies.

The following may be needed to make a diagnosis:

• an assessment of symptoms for example, whether there are typical symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies
• an assessment of mental abilities this will usually involve a number of tasks and questions
• blood tests to rule out conditions with similar symptoms
• brain scans, such as an MRI scan, CT scan or a SPECT scan these can detect signs of dementia or other problems with the brain

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What You Need To Know

• Lewy body dementia is a form of progressive dementia that affects a persons ability to think, reason, and process information.
• Diagnosing Lewy body dementia can be challenging an estimated 1.4 million Americans are living with the disease.
• LBD has three features that distinguish it from other forms of dementia:
• Fluctuating effects on mental functioning, particularly alertness and attention, which may resemble delirium
• Recurrent visual hallucinations
• Parkinson-like movement symptoms, such as rigidity and lack of spontaneous movement.

Lewy bodies are clumps of abnormal protein particles that, for reasons that are not fully understood, accumulate in the brain. These deposits cause a form of dementia called Lewy body dementia, or LBD which is what the late actor and comedian Robin Williams suffered from.

LBD is not the same as Parkinsons, but the two are closely related: LBD causes some or all of the motor symptoms of Parkinsons. More than 1 million people in the U.S. are affected by Lewy body dementia, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association.

Lewy Body Dementia Vs Alzheimer’s Disease

Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are similar but not the same. This starts with how the features of dementia differ for each disorder:

• Lewy body dementia is a form of dementia with characteristics of Parkinson’s disease that affects executive function , speed of thinking, memory, movement, and moods. LBD can cause visual hallucinations, problems with attention and alertness, and movement problems such as tremors and stiffness.
• Alzheimer’s disease is the more common form of dementia that primarily affects language, behavior, and memory. It mainly manifests with profound memory loss, such as trouble recalling events, recognizing people, naming objects, or learning new information.

LBD and Alzheimer’s disease can appear similar in the early stages, and it is not uncommon for someone with LBD to be mistakenly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at first.

The underlying causes of Alzheimer’s and LBD can and often do overlap. As a result, a person with LBD might experience Alzheimer-type changes in their brain, resulting in shared characteristics and symptoms referred to as mixed dementia.

The main differences between LBD and Alzheimer’s can be summarized in the following chart:

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Assessment Is Key For Optimal Management

Takeaways:

• An early symptom of Alzheimers disease is decline in cognition, most typically manifesting as short-term memory loss. Early symptoms of Lewy body dementia are characterized by cognitive, behavioral, movement, and autonomic changes.
• Common early signs of Lewy body dementia include visuospatial disturbances, vivid hallucinations, bradykinesia and rigidity and postural hypotension, loss of smell, and constipation.
• Strategies for managing symptoms in these two conditions vary.
• Screening and early dementia diagnosis provide opportunities to pursue health behaviors that can reduce risk, for earlier medication initiation to help moderate symptoms, to slow progression, and for long-term care planning.

Lewy Body Dementia Research

Many avenues of research are being explored to improve our understanding of LBD. Some researchers are working to identify the specific differences in the brain between the two types of LBD. Others are looking at the disease’s underlying biology, genetics, and environmental risk factors. Still other scientists are trying to identify biomarkers , improve screening tests to aid diagnosis, and research new treatments.

Scientists hope that new knowledge about LBD will one day lead to more effective treatments and even ways to cure and prevent the disorder. Until then, researchers need volunteers with and without LBD for clinical studies.

NIH and other groups help people learn about clinical trials and studies and find research opportunities near them. Visit the following websites for details:

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What’s The Difference Between Alzheimer’s And Dementia

Dementia is a general term that refers to severe memory loss and problems with thinking, behavior, and social skills that interfere with daily life. According to the National Institutes of Health, this neurological condition affects one in seven adults over age 71.

Alzheimers disease is a type of dementia and makes up 60 percent to 80 percent of dementia cases, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most cases of Alzheimers occur when people reach their 70s and 80s.

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Although Alzheimers disease accounts for many dementia cases, other types of dementia are distinct from Alzheimers disease, such as vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia. Alzheimers disease differs from other diseases involving dementia when it comes to its symptoms, effect on the brain, and treatments.

Alzheimers Disease

The most prevalent type of dementia is Alzheimers disease, which is the fifth-leading cause of death for adults 65 and over. The illness is marked by difficulty remembering recent events. People with Alzheimers can usually recall the past, but have trouble remembering what transpired recently. An individual with Alzheimers disease may be able to tell you about their childhood in detail, but not about the previous days events. As the condition progresses, people can have challenges walking and talking, and may experience personality changes.

Lewy Body Dementia

Symptoms of LBD include:

Vascular Dementia

Importance Of Understanding Which Type Of Dementia

Because dementia is such a devastating illness that strongly impacts a persons ability to think and function, you might wonder why it even matters whether someone has Alzheimers disease or another kind of dementia. The differences are important and can have a major impact on decisions about treatment and lifestyle.

Long Term Planning

A person diagnosed with dementia will want to know what to expect. If you know what the side effects are for your particular kind of dementia, it makes it possible to plan. Someone with Alzheimers disease will want to prepare for dealing with memory loss, and take steps like labeling doors and drawers, or using technological devices like talking photo albums that can actually speak the names of important friends or loved ones.

It is important to know what will be needed in subsequent stages. The people who care for someone with dementia will be better able to deal with conflicts that might arise when a personality is being impacted by Frontotemporal dementia, for example. Helping someone with activities of daily living , like eating and dressing, may sound simple, but there are learned techniques to make the process easier and to encourage independence, which improves symptoms. Caregiving is difficult work, but it will be easier if the caregiver knows whether memory or personality will be more strongly affected, and how the brain will change.

Support Networks

Treatments

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Special Concerns For The Caregivers

Caregivers of patients with LBD are stressed in many of the same ways as caregivers of AD patients. The cognitive decline, decreasing functional capacity, and non-cognitive disturbances are every bit as stressful. In addition, though, LBD patients can present special concerns because their ability to function changes from day to day. Their falls and hallucinations add further stress and risk. Their response to cognitive enhancers such as the cholinesterase inhibitors or memantine can be as good as that of AD patients, so their use should be considered.