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Is It Really Parkinson’s…or This Similarly Presenting Condition: Dementia with Lewy Bodies?
Each and every year, thousands of American seniors are told they have Parkinson’s disease, but they don’t. For a lot of these individuals, the true diagnosis is a very similar but not as well-known disease: dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).
Dementia with Lewy bodies affects as many as 1.3 million Americans, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA). And that estimate could be too low, since some individuals who have been inaccurately identified as having Parkinson’s still have not been given the correct diagnosis.
Symptoms for the two diagnoses can be very similar, particularly as they progress, since they exhibit similar root alterations in the brain.
Below are the signs and symptoms of DLB you should be informed about, as reported by the LBDA:
- Worsening dementia – Increasing confusion and minimized attention and executive function are common. Memory impairment might not be evident during the early stages.
- Frequent visual hallucinations – These are typically complicated and detailed.
- Hallucinations of other senses – Touch or hearing are usually the most typical.
- REM sleep behavior disorder – This tends to appear years before the onset of dementia and Parkinson’s.
- Frequent falls and fainting – Includes unexplained loss of consciousness.
- Other psychiatric disturbances – Most of these differ from patient to patient.
