question-icon

Early Identification For Lewy Body Dementia?

default
Posted on Mon, 11 Nov 2013
Question: What if anything does the military have to do with lewy body dementia? My husband just died fromit after being dinosed wrong for the first five years.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Namala Bharadwaj (5 hours later)
Brief Answer:
difficult for early identification, management

Detailed Answer:
hello dear
thanks for your query at XXXXXXX
lewy body dementia is a progressive, degenerative dementia of unknown etiology.
its progressive neurological disorder.
it not because of any infection or contagious thing.
so it has nothing to do with your husband working on military or some where else.
some genetic predilication is found in some families with specific gene muations.
it is very rare disease with overall incidence of 3.5 cases per 100,000 person-years.
there might have been delay in identifying disease because of its close proximity and similar presentation with alzemers or parkinson disease.
but there are some clinical features by which it can be differentiated from others like:
1 Fluctuations in cognitive function with varying levels of alertness and attention (eg, excessive daytime drowsiness despite adequate nighttime sleep or daytime sleep >2 hours, staring into space for long periods, episodes of disorganized speech)
2 Visual hallucinations
3 Parkinsonian motor features

Other symptoms that may alert clinicians to the diagnosis of DLB (vs Alzheimer disease) include the following:

Nonvisual hallucinations
Delusions
Unexplained syncope
prognosis is quite poor even on medical management because of the nature of the disease.
hope i answered your query in detail.
if any query you can ask me follow up question or
direct question at
WWW.WWWW.WW regards
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E
doctor
default
Follow up: Dr. Namala Bharadwaj (21 hours later)
I just wanted to know about this because the V.A. didn't diagnose him correctlyfor 5 years We found this out when he was admitted to st. francis hospital 2 weeks before he died. Thank Y0u very much.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Namala Bharadwaj (53 minutes later)
Hello,

I understand your concern. But it is difficult to diagnose a patient with lewy body dementia as features are subtle and overlaping with other forms. Moreover this form of dementia is quite rare and difficult for any one to come to diagnosis.

It would have been important and helpful to identify other associated conditions that might be directly responsible for his demise.

Regards
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Namala Bharadwaj

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2011

Answered : 516 Questions

premium_optimized

The User accepted the expert's answer

Share on

Get personalised answers from verified doctor in minutes across 80+ specialties

159 Doctors Online

By proceeding, I accept the Terms and Conditions

HCM Blog Instant Access to Doctors
HCM Blog Questions Answered
HCM Blog Satisfaction
Early Identification For Lewy Body Dementia?

Brief Answer:
difficult for early identification, management

Detailed Answer:
hello dear
thanks for your query at XXXXXXX
lewy body dementia is a progressive, degenerative dementia of unknown etiology.
its progressive neurological disorder.
it not because of any infection or contagious thing.
so it has nothing to do with your husband working on military or some where else.
some genetic predilication is found in some families with specific gene muations.
it is very rare disease with overall incidence of 3.5 cases per 100,000 person-years.
there might have been delay in identifying disease because of its close proximity and similar presentation with alzemers or parkinson disease.
but there are some clinical features by which it can be differentiated from others like:
1 Fluctuations in cognitive function with varying levels of alertness and attention (eg, excessive daytime drowsiness despite adequate nighttime sleep or daytime sleep >2 hours, staring into space for long periods, episodes of disorganized speech)
2 Visual hallucinations
3 Parkinsonian motor features

Other symptoms that may alert clinicians to the diagnosis of DLB (vs Alzheimer disease) include the following:

Nonvisual hallucinations
Delusions
Unexplained syncope
prognosis is quite poor even on medical management because of the nature of the disease.
hope i answered your query in detail.
if any query you can ask me follow up question or
direct question at
WWW.WWWW.WW regards