What are the symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies?
Similar to Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most common initial symptoms of DLB is impaired memory of recent events. Many patients also have episodes of confusion, problems with language, and difficulty making decisions. These symptoms may fluctuate wildly, with the patient perhaps able to function normally one day and be almost unable to speak the next. Persons suffering from DLB may also experience very detailed visual hallucinations. Adding to these symptoms may be physical impairments similar to those found in Parkinson’s disease, also known as “extrapyramidal signs.” These include a hunched posture, shuffling walk, and limb stiffness, among others. As with Alzheimer’s disease, a definitive diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies can only be made by examining the brain after death. However, in 1996 a group of scientists issued guidelines for clinically diagnosing the condition. A diagnosis requires persistent cognitive deficits and either fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations,
