GoBilgiIf you are wondering what is dementia with Lewy bodies, we are here to help you out. It is the second common kind of progressive dementia other than Alzheimer’s disease.
Protein deposits are also referred to as Lewy bodies that develop in the nerve cells. It occurs in the regions of the brain that are responsible for motor control (movement), memory, and thinking.
Lewy body dementia results in a progressive decrease of your mental abilities. You may have this question in your mind: what is the most common reversible cause of dementia symptoms?
You can expect changes in attention and alertness as well as experience visual hallucinations.
Other symptoms consist of signs of Parkinson’s disease like slow movement, tremors, difficulty walking, and rigid muscles.
What is dementia with Lewy bodies? – Causes
The main cause is not known. Scientists are, however, delving more deeply into its genetics and biology.
For instance, Lewy body accumulation can occur due to the loss of neurons in your brain that produces essential chemicals that act as neurotransmitters.
Acetylcholine is responsible for learning and memory. Dopamine also plays a key role in mood, sleep, motivation, movement, cognition, and behavior.
When talking about the most common reversible cause of dementia symptoms, we need to mention its risk factors.
We can only control some of them while others are not under our control. Age is one of the common risk factors. Other factors that pose a risk for Lewy body dementia are a disorder of REM sleep behavior and health conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
It may be that one of your family members suffers from dementia with Lewy bodies. This can affect you genetically by increasing your risk of having Lewy body dementia.
Therefore, the answer to what is the most common reversible cause of dementia symptoms will be aging, genetics, and loss of neurons in the brain.
Symptoms of dementia with Lewy Bodies
What is dementia symptom? It is different for different people, and it entirely depends on the kind of Lewy body dementia one has. It may get worse or mild at certain times.
Why do dementia symptoms vary from person to person? Lewy body dementia changes your sleep, movement, behavior, mood, and thinking. Some of them are as follows.
1. Thinking skills:
People who have dementia with Lewy bodies will have trouble in the way they think. For instance, they may lose concentration, stare into space, hallucinate, and have trouble organizing, planning, making decisions, and judging distances. Other symptoms of affected thinking are given below.
- Problems in recalling things.
- Non-visual hallucinations like smelling or hearing things.
- Confusion.
- Difficulty with numbers and language.
2. Mood:
Dementia symptoms include things that affect your mood. For instance, you may experience anxiety, lack of interest, depression, and delusions like thinking that a friend or relative is an impostor. Dementia with Lewy bodies affects mood in the following ways.
- Irrational distrust or Paranoia.
- Restlessness or agitation.
- Irritability, repeating of phrases or words, and wringing of hands.
- Lesser interactions in social settings.
- Apathy.
- Anger in the absence of a loved one.
3. Sleep:
People who suffer from dementia with Lewy bodies will experience disorders in their REM sleep behavior.
They can make violent movements while sleeping or falling from the bed. These people will fall asleep often during the daytime and sleep for around two hours.
They can even experience restless leg syndrome that will prevent them from having proper rest.
4. Movement:
Dementia symptoms also include factors that affect movement. Therefore, people suffering from this disease can slow walk or shuffle.
They may also experience problems in keeping balance and may often fall. People who have dementia with Lewy bodies will have shaking or tremors in their hands, stiff muscles, and stooped posture.
Other problems related to movement are as follows-
- Frozen stance.
- Loss of coordination.
- Smaller handwriting than normal.
- Difficulty swallowing.
- Weak voice.
- Reduces expressions in the face.
What is the best treatment for dementia?
If you think about what is the best treatment for dementia, you may get disappointed. This is because there is not yet any treatment for Lewy body dementia.
Non-medical therapies such as speech, occupational, and physical therapies, along with other medications, can help to manage the symptoms of dementia.
Some medications are called cholinesterase inhibitors. These include Razadyne, Exelon, and Aricept to manage the cognitive symptoms associated with Lewy body dementia.
Namenda (Memantine) can be helpful. Tremors that are the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease can get their proper treatment from levodopa, which is a drug for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
While you are experimenting with what is the treatment for dementia, try speech therapy and physical therapy. These treatments help in retaining physical function as well as improve the strength of your muscles.
Will dementia kill you?
Anyone who has dementia will have fear when faced with this question: Will dementia kill you?
Every dementia with Lewy bodies is different as a result of which it is important to predict how the disease will progress. With time, body and mind functions may get worse.
After getting a diagnosis, people who have dementia with Lewy bodies live up to five to seven years. Some people can also live up to twenty years.
Once you start following a healthy and better lifestyle, you can do away with this fear.
One of the ways by which people with dementia regulate their lifestyle is by interacting with others as much as possible.
Eating a healthy diet is crucial, along with working out by performing several exercises. Aromatherapy and music can improve your mood as well as lower your anxiety.
You can ask for help from your loved ones. They will not judge you, so do not hesitate to ask for some assistance. You can also consult certain therapists.
- Speech therapists: These therapists enable patients to speak clearly. At the same time, it will help in improving swallowing difficulty.
- Occupational therapists: The occupational therapists teach methods and skills to help you perform everyday activities easily. In addition, it allows you the ability to become independent.
- Physical therapists: Physical therapists help to improve walking and balance mechanics, flexibility, and physical strength.
People who have dementia with Lewy bodies suffer from the fear of death from dementia. By seeking treatment from a psychotherapist, both patients and their families can benefit.
The counselor will help them to learn how to cope with behavioral and emotional problems. Even support groups can help these people relate with others who are suffering from the same problem and overcome their problems.
Stages of Dementia
There are seven stages of dementia that are mentioned as follows.
1. Stage one- Normal stage
This is one of the first stages of dementia, where people rarely experience any symptoms. MRI or Magnetic Resonance Imaging or scans of the patient’s brain can demonstrate incidental findings.
Sleeping in the daytime, along with the presence of mood fluctuations and hallucinations, occur in some patients.
2. Stage two- Extremely mild symptom
It can be impossible or difficult to notice the minor symptoms. However, the patient may face trouble in finding familiar objects and forget names. They will be able to continue with daily activities or work.
3. Stage three- Mild symptoms
This is another one of the stages of dementia. The patient may experience forgetfulness, difficulty in working, risk of falling, problems in concentration, and loss of memory.
4. Stage four- Moderate symptoms
In stage four, people have a confirmed diagnosis. They may have excessive drools, difficulty swallowing and choking. People further experience difficulty speaking and tremors.
They may find it hard to carry on with their daily activities. Their hallucinations will decrease, and sleeping during the daytime will increase. In addition, they will need to be under supervision.
5. Stage five- Severely moderate symptoms
Along with trouble performing daily activities, they will also face significant loss of memory. They will not be able to stay alone and experience disorientation or confusion.
Fever is quite common in these patients with a higher risk of skin diseases and infections. They may also require supervision of twenty-four hours.
They will not be able to carry out easy and simple tasks. Patients will get paranoid and suffer from frequent delusions. They may need assistance in self-care and eating.
6. Stage six- Increased severity of symptoms
In the sixth stage, the patient will experience bowel and urine incontinence. They will find it hard to communicate or speak. They will only be able to retrieve memories from their early life. Moreover, they will require support for living comfortably.
If memory loss gets severe, they will have tremendous changes in their personality. Besides, they will not be able to recognize their family members.
7. Stage seven- Extremely severe symptoms
During the final stage, the physical strength will start to decline, and there will be limited communication. They will require extensive support from their loved ones. Moreover, they will also need support for doing regular tasks.
Conclusion
People who have dementia with Lewy bodies manage their symptoms. If they experience any of the above symptoms like daytime sleeping and hallucinations, they must get a diagnosis. If the diagnosis comes back positive, they will need to talk to a counselor.
Therapy, both physical and mental, can help them tackle this disease. Family members will need to help them out as much as possible. This is because, with time, they will gradually lose their balance and coordination.
After a diagnosis, they need to make a consultation with some therapists. This will help them to speak clearly. In addition, they will be in a position to perform their daily tasks. However, it is important in the later stages for family members to assist the patient.
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