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Lewy Body Dementia Research Paper

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When it comes to Lewy Body Dementia there are a lot of misconceptions about it. Many people believe that Dementia and Alzheimer’s are the same thing however, that is incorrect. Dementia refers to the multiple symptoms and then, they attribute to a diagnosis to a specific type of Dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common forms. Alzheimer’s disease is irreversible, progressive and it destroys memory, and cognitive skills. The specific type that will be discussed is Lewy Body Dementia.
“Lewy Body Dementia is associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain whose changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior …show more content…
There are two different types of Lewy Body Dementias, there is dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia. As this particular dementia moves along the symptoms of both types become very similar. I will later look in depth about the differences between both of these as for now I will talk specifically about how and who Lewy Body dementia affects. On an average this form of dementia starts at 50 years old or older, occasionally people do develop it at a younger age. More than a million people in the United States are affected by it. It also tends to affect more men than it does women. The progression is gradual but faster than Alzheimer’s disease. Some cognitive symptoms include memory impairment, visuospatial problems, hallucinations, and fluctuation of symptoms. The disease can last between 5 to 7 years from the time of diagnosis but usually the span ranges from 2 to 20 years. When it comes to how the disease affects people, it has to …show more content…
This dementia accounts to 20% of all dementia cases (which is 800,000 patients in the United States). Parkinson’s disease is also a Lewy body dementia and 50% of these patients develop Parkinson’s disease dementia which also accounts for an additional 750,000 patients. When bringing up the diagnosis it is common for many people with Lewy Body dementia to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, similar diseases or Parkinson’s, because the symptoms can at times mimic this dementia. Primary symptoms as discussed before are: Dementia which comes within a year of movement problems, these movement problems appear at the same time as or after dementia and they are known as Parkinsonism, fluctuating cognition, attention and alertness problems, and visual hallucinations. Some common symptoms are REM sleep behavior disorders which can develop years before other symptoms, extreme sensitivity to antipsychotic medications, changes in personality and mood (such as depression, delusions, and apathy) as well as changes in the autonomic nervous system. Now all of these just seem like simple symptoms but there is a lot more information behind these terms and I will break down what each of these symptoms consist

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