Common Features & Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia

Common Features/Symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia

aka Dementia with Lewy bodies

Associated with Lewy bodies, which are abnormal protein deposits that form clumps in the brain and disrupt brain signals.  

• Delusions
• Visual hallucinations  
• Sleep disturbances and disorders such as REM sleep behavior disorder and insomnia
• Parkinson-like symptoms such as slowed or stiff movements, tremors, shuffling gait, stooped posture, and overall loss of coordination
• Difficulty with multi-tasking  
• Deficits in problem solving and judgment  
• At increased risk for orthostatic hypotension due to impairments in involuntary functions such as the regulation of blood pressure  
• Difficulty regulating body temperature  
• At increased risk for apathy, depression, anxiety, and agitation

Important Notes: People with Lewy Body Dementia tend to be extremely sensitive to antipsychotic medications. In fact, 60% of people with Lewy Body Dementia experience worsening Parkinson-like symptoms, sedation, impaired swallowing, or neuroleptic malignant syndrome—which is basically where the person develops a fever, increased rigidity, and a breakdown of their muscles and leads to kidney failure, which can be life-threatening.

Want to learn more about Lewy Body Dementia?

https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-dementia-with-lewy-bodies-ts.pdf

https://www.lbda.org/

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