Lewy Body Dementia: An Overview
Lewy body dementia is one of the most common yet frequently misunderstood forms of progressive dementia, affecting an estimated 1.4 million individuals in the United States alone. Named after Friedrich Heinrich Lewy, the neurologist who first discovered the abnormal protein deposits in the early twentieth century, this condition presents a unique and often bewildering combination of cognitive, motor, and psychiatric symptoms. Lewy body dementia encompasses two related diagnoses: dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia. While these conditions share an underlying pathology, they differ in the timing and order of symptom onset, making accurate diagnosis both critical and challenging. What Are Lewy Bodies? Lewy bodies are microscopic deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein that accumulate inside nerve cells throughout the brain. When these deposits form in specific regions, they disrupt the normal chemical signaling between brain cells, ultimately leading to c...