Dementia with Lewy bodies: Diagnosis is only skin deep?

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is currently diagnosed clinically by identifying dementia in combination with a number of hallmark features: REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD), prominent visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, and marked fluctuations of cognition and alertness.1 DLB is often underdiagnosed, suggesting a role for biomarkers. The main differential diagnosis of DLB is Alzheimer disease (AD); whereas both AD and DLB have amyloid deposition, DLB also has additional α-synuclein deposition (Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites). So, one way to establish DLB diagnosis might be to detect the α-synucleinopathy itself.

Source: Neurology - July 24, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Postuma, R. B., Walker, Z. Tags: Autonomic diseases, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies, Vascular dementia, Class III EDITORIALS Source Type: research