Lewy Body Dementia Essay

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LEWY BODY DEMENTIA
Introduction
Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a progressive dementia and the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer's disease dementia. Protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, develop in nerve cells in the brain regions involved in motor control such as, thinking, memory and movement (Mayo Clinic). LBD has similar symptoms with both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and is often misdiagnosed. Of particular note, Robin Williams suffered from this debilitating disease which lead to his suicide in 2014. It was not discovered until his autopsy three months after his death.
Symptoms
People with Lewy body dementia may experience visual hallucinations, and changes in alertness and attention. Other symptoms include Parkinson's disease-like symptoms such as rigid muscles, slow movement and tremors and interferes with a person’s ability to perform daily activities. (Mayo Clinic.com)

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She wrote, “His case was extreme. Not until the coroner's report, 3 months after his death, would I learn that it was diffuse LBD that took him. All 4 of the doctors I met with afterwards and who had reviewed his records indicated his was one of the worst pathologies they had seen. He had about 40% loss of dopamine neurons and almost no neurons were free of Lewy bodies throughout the entire brain and brainstem.” She tells us that his fear and anxiety had skyrocketed and later discovered it is an early indication of LBD. “Robin had been under his doctors' care. He had been struggling with symptoms that seemed unrelated: constipation, urinary difficulty, heartburn, sleeplessness and insomnia, and a poor sense of smell—and lots of stress. He also had a slight tremor in his left hand that would come and go.”

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