Lewy Body Dementia

Lewy Body Dementia

  • Overview
  • Appointments
  • Symptoms
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatments
  • Patient Resources
  • Locations
  • Doctors

    • What is Lewy body dementia?

    Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a brain disease that impairs thinking and often mobility.  It is the third most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia.  LBD accounts for up to 20% of all dementia cases in the U.S.

    What are the causes of Lewy body dementia?

    What causes LBD is unknown, but it is not usually hereditary. In LBD, cells in the brain contain abnormal protein deposits known as Lewy bodies that contain a specific protein, alpha synuclein. These affect brain signals and disrupt brain functions. Experts are still exploring factors that are associated with, or alter the risk of, LBD:

    • Loss of smell and dream enactment behavior are associated with LBD
    • Genetics variants in several genes increase the risk of LBD
    • Lifestyle: regular exercise and healthy eating may reduce risk

    Appointment Information

    For more information or to make an appointment, call 734-764-6831.

    What are the symptoms of Lewy body dementia?

    A person with LBD may experience:

    • Thinking difficulties, including trouble with reasoning and attention
    • Visual hallucinations (“seeing” people or things that are not there)
    • Significant day-to-day fluctuations in cognitive abilities and alertness
    • Stiffness and slowness of movement (parkinsonism)
    • Tremors or shaking, most commonly at rest
    • Talking or moving during dreams
    • Mood changes, including depression, agitation and anxiety

    People with LBD can also experience changes to the part of the nervous system that regulates automatic functions. These may lead to lightheadedness or fainting, and constipation, among other symptoms.

    How is Lewy body dementia diagnosed?

    LBD is often confused with AD or Parkinson’s disease (PD). Accurate diagnosis is critical because people with LBD have distinct symptoms that require different treatment strategies and may be sensitive to certain medications. A diagnosis of LBD is made after a thorough evaluation, which includes:

    • A discussion of symptoms
    • A physical exam
    • Diagnostic testing

    Blood tests, brain scans and occasionally cerebrospinal fluid analysis are also performed. No single brain scan or medical test can definitively diagnose LBD. Recently, both a skin test and a cerebrospinal fluid test have been developed to detect the Lewy body protein, alpha synuclein, but these tests are not yet widely adopted in clinical practice. The diagnosis can be confirmed after death with a brain autopsy showing Lewy bodies.

    What is the treatment for Lewy body dementia?

    LBD worsens over time and impairs the individual’s ability to live and function independently. Though there is no known cure for LBD, three types of medications may be used to treat LBD symptoms:

    • Cognitive
      • Cholinesterase inhibitors such as donepezil (Aricept®), galantamine (Razadyne), or rivastigmine (Exelon®) Movement
      • Medications used to treat people with PD such as carbidopa/levodopa (Sinemet®)
    • Sleep Disorders
      • Melatonin
    • Behavioral and Mood Changes
      • Medications for visual hallucinations and behavioral problems, such as atypical antipsychotics and antidepressants

    Patient Resources

    More information about Lewy Body dementia can be found at:

    Locations
    • Geriatric Neurology Clinic | East Ann Arbor Health & Geriatrics Center 4260 Plymouth Rd
      Level 1
      Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2700       Get Directions

    Doctors

     Search for a U-M Health doctor

    Sami J Barmada, MD, PhD

    Professor

    Neurology

    Judith Lynn Heidebrink, MD

    Judith Lynn Heidebrink, MD

    Clinical Professor

    Neurology

    labcoat

    Steven Gregory MacDonald, MD

    Clinical Assistant Professor

    Neurology

    Henry L Paulson

    Henry Lauris Paulson, MD, PhD

    Professor

    Neurology

    Tanav Anand Popli, MD

    Tanav Anand Popli, MD

    Clinical Instructor

    Neurology

    Navid Seraji-Bozorgzad, MD

    Navid Seraji-Bozorgzad, MD

    Clinical Associate Professor

    Neurology, Internal Medicine

    News & Stories
    Minding memory above a microphone on a blue background
    Minding Memory

    Can Your Voice Reveal Early Signs of Alzheimer’s?

    In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Neguine Rezaii, MD, an Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and a Board-Certified Neuropsychiatrist at Mass General Hospital. Dr. Rezaii’s research focuses on using natural language processing and artificial intelligence to improve the detection and classification of neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Rezaii talks about her recent study, “Voiceprints of Cognitive Impairment: Analyzing Digital Voice for Early Detection of Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias,” which explores how artificial intelligence can analyze short speech samples to identify subtle signs of cognitive impairment. The study used speech recordings from 120 individuals and found that features such as pauses, word choice and the specificity of language can help distinguish cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The conversation also explores how a simple 30-second speech test could potentially be used in clinical settings to support earlier detection and monitoring of cognitive impairment, as well as the challenges and ethical considerations that come with using AI to analyze something as personal as a person’s voice.
         Cole, wearing sunglasses and a purple Calming the Storm t-shirt with a rainbow, is seated on a blanket outdoors and holding a Mott teddy bear.
    Philanthropy News

    A pediatric epilepsy fundraiser that changes lives

    Your support of Calming the Storm advances pediatric epilepsy research and patient care programs. There are many ways you can contribute to make a difference for so many children and families.
         Minding memory above a microphone on a blue background
    Minding Memory

    Is the United States Lagging Behind Europe in Memory Improvement?

    In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Neil Mehta, PhD who is the associate dean for research and a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Dr. Mehta’s research focuses on US life expectancy trends, the effects of obesity on disability and mortality, the sources of socioeconomic status disparities in mortality, and patterns of health in the United States and Europe. Dr. Mehta talks about a recent manuscript from the NIA-funded TRENDS study called “Trends in Memory Function and Memory Impairment Among Older Adults in the United States and Europe, 1996 to 2018.”, which looks at data from several sources to compare trends in memory function across 13 different countries.
         cells close up blue and green background microscope
    Health Lab

    Engineered nanoparticles sensitize gliomas to radiotherapy

    University of Michigan researchers discovered a new pathway that sensitizes mIDH1 gliomas to radiation in human and mouse mIDH1 glioma cells and mouse models, paving the way for phase 1 clinical trials in humans
         Minding Memory with a microphone and a shadow of a microphone on a blue background
    Minding Memory

    The Care Ecosystem: Supporting People Living with Dementia and Their Families

    Welcome back to Season 6 of Minding Memory! In this episode, Lauren & Matt speak with Dr. Katherine (Kate) Possin, who holds the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation Professorship at the University of California, San Francisco Fein Memory & Aging Center. Dr. Possin talks about the Care Ecosystem, a telephone and web-based model that provides ongoing education, support, care planning, and coordination for people living with dementia and their care partners. They’ll dig into how the Care Ecosystem was developed, and what studies have shown about its impact on people living with dementia.
         Health Lab Podcast in brackets with a background with a dark blue translucent layers over cells
    Health Lab Podcast

    Caregiver Resources: Reduce the Risk of Burnout

    If you are a caregiver, whether you’re helping a spouse, parent, another adult relative or a friend with a disability, health need or medical crisis, you don’t have to go it alone.