Lewy Body Dementia: Information For Patients, Families, And Professionals

Course overview

Lewy body dementia (LBD) 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. LBD is one of the most common causes of dementia, after Alzheimer?s disease and vascular disease. Dementia is a severe loss of thinking abilities that interferes with a person?s capacity to perform daily activities such as household tasks, personal care, and handling finances. Dementia has many possible causes, including stroke, tumor, depression, and vitamin deficiency, as well as disorders such as LBD, Parkinson?s, and Alzheimer?s. Diagnosing LBD can be challenging for a number of reasons. Early LBD symptoms are often confused with similar symptoms found in brain diseases like Alzheimer?s. Also, LBD can occur alone or along with Alzheimer?s or Parkinson?s disease.