October is designated as Lewy Body Dementia month

NYU Langone Medical CenterOct 13 2011

The month of October is designated as Lewy Body Dementia month. Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a degenerative brain disease that progressively impairs thinking and movement, while impacting behavior and sleep. Although it affects an estimated 1.3 million people in the U.S., LBD is under-recognized, under-diagnosed and under-treated. It is most often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Lewy Body dementia is a more rapidly progressive disease than Alzheimer's disease. Treating LBD patients with the wrong medications can lead to serious, sometimes fatal complications. Caregivers face significant distress, burden and isolation because they are unable to get the help they need. Research shows that LBD can be detected early with a careful evaluation. Three out of 4 LBD patients are initially misdiagnosed and the majority of patients see more than 3 doctors for more than 10 visits over 18 months before a diagnosis is established. More research and better education for healthcare providers is needed

Early, correct diagnosis allows proper management of symptoms, avoids potentially harmful medications, and alleviates caregiver distress. Correct diagnosis also promotes research programs to find better treatments. Research shows specific patterns of cognitive decline, changes in MRI, and differences in spinal fluid proteins that may increase our ability to make early, accurate diagnoses

Focused efforts on healthcare provider education and developing biological markers of disease to improve diagnosis are needed. Our research efforts are now focusing on the burden and distress caregivers' face and their unmet needs and well as using different forms of brain imaging to improve our ability to understand the changes in the LBD brain.