Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a type of dementia that is closely linked to Parkinson’s disease. People living with LBD typically see a faster progression of symptoms than those living with Alzheimer’s disease.
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What is Lewy body dementia?
Lewy body dementia is the second most common form of dementia (5-10% of all dementia cases), after Alzheimer’s disease (around 70%).
As with Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia is caused by a build-up of protein in the brain. It is a different type of protein though, alpha-synuclein, which forms clumps known as Lewy bodies.
There are two subtypes of Lewy body dementia. This depends on which symptoms appear first and how they progress.
The subtypes are:
- Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): Cognitive symptoms will appear first.
- Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD): Physical symptoms will appear first. Around 30% of people with Parkinson’s disease develop PDD.
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What are the early signs of Lewy body dementia?
Very early symptoms of LBD can be hard to spot, and may be confused with ageing, stress or other health issues.
Cognitive symptoms
- Dramatic fluctuation between alertness and confusion. This is different from other forms of dementia, in which cognition tends to be more of a steady decline.
- Difficulty to process and form meaning from what they are seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or touching.
- Some memory impairment. Memory impairment is a significant symptom of other types of dementia but in LBD, other cognitive difficulties are usually more prominent than memory.
- Impaired spatial awareness, which may cause them to bump into things or inaccurately judge distance.
- Changes in mood, including low mood, apathy or anxiety.
- Impaired ability to problem solve.
Neuropsychiatric symptoms
- Hallucinations, usually visual.
- Delusions.
- Sleep problems, including insomnia, fatigue and acting out dreams.
Physical symptoms
- Stiffness and slower movement.
- A tremor or shaking, often in the hands.
- Impaired speech, often slightly slow or slurred.
- Low blood pressure.
- Getting hotter or colder than they should as the body struggles to regulate its temperature.
How does Lewy body dementia progress?
As with other types of dementia, Lewy body dementia is a progressive illness with no current cure. This means that symptoms will worsen, though the rate of this does vary between individuals. People living with the LBD often require increased care and support with daily living as they find tasks more challenging due to their symptoms.
Which symptoms worsen first, primarily cognitive or physical, can depend on which type of Lewy body dementia the person has.
A key aspect of the progression of LBD is that decline often fluctuates, rather than being a steady, gradual deterioration.
Lewy body dementia typically has a faster decline than Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, but there are a lot of different types.
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Does Lewy body dementia progress faster than other types of dementia?
LBD progresses faster than Alzheimer’s disease, on average.
It doesn’t progress as fast as some other types of dementia, such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare type of dementia with an average life expectancy of less than a year.
It’s not considered a Rapidly Progressing Dementia (RPD) in and of itself, though some people will experience a more rapid decline than others. The term ‘Rapidly Progressing Dementia’ applies to those in which deterioration happens over months or even weeks, rather than years.
Can treatment slow down Lewy body dementia?
There aren’t any treatments yet that are guaranteed to slow the progress of Lewy body dementia. There are medications that can reduce symptoms, but they slow down decline.
What is the life expectancy for Lewy body dementia?
The life expectancy of people diagnosed with Lewy body dementia is around 5-8 years. This is only an average; an individual’s age, overall health and care can contribute, and a person may live for a shorter or longer time than this.
This average life expectancy is slightly lower than that of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which is around 8-10 years, according to The Alzheimer’s Society.
FAQs
Can treatment slow the decline of Lewy body dementia?
There are medications that can help with symptoms of Lewy body dementia, but none that are proven to slow the progression of the illness.
What is the average life expectancy of Lewy body dementia?
The average life expectancy for Lewy body dementia is 5-8 years. This is an average and a person’s overall health and the care they receive can sometimes affect their life expectancy.
Does Lewy body dementia have a fast decline?
People living with Lewy body dementia generally see a faster progression of the condition than those living with Alzheimer’s disease. This varies between individuals though and LBD isn’t a Rapidly Progressing Dementia (RPD).
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