Dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia
Dementia with Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease dementia belong to the α-synucleinopathies, a family of diseases pathologically characterized by aggregation of α-synuclein in Lewy bodies in the brain. In this chapter we present the epidemiological data for both conditions including new data on MCI. Clinical diagnostic criteria are reviewed and the different neuropathology staging systems for DLB and PDD and the most important genetic findings are considered. Biomarkers in DLB and PDD with particular focus on imaging techniques like CIT-SPECT and MRI are described. Important clinical symptoms in both conditions are presented in detail and the most important clinical differential diagnoses are discussed. Pharmacological and non- pharmacological treatment of different symptoms in both conditions are discussed with particular emphasis on the choline esterase inhibitors and antipsychotic medications.New data on memantine are presented.