Comparison of Clinical Manifestations in Alzheimer Disease and Dementia With Lewy Bodies

Abstract

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) may be the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer disease (AD).1,2 There is considerable confusion concerning its clinical, neuropathologic, and genetic delineation from other types of dementia, in particular from AD. Clinically, DLB is characterized by progressive cognitive decline accompanied by visual hallucinations, fluctuating attention and cognition, and parkinsonism.2 Neuropathologic hallmarks are α-synuclein–positive Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites predominantly located in brainstem, subcortical nuclei, limbic cortex, and neocortex.2,3 However, Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites may occur not only in patients with DLB but also in patients with AD,4 and many patients with DLB have some degree of pathologic AD.3