I was reading over someone’s brain autopsy report today, and it contained this sentence:
“Considering the degree of Alzheimer type pathology and the distribution of Lewy bodies, the likelihood that this patient would have had clinical features of dementia with Lewy bodies is intermediate.”
The source of the “intermediate” evaluation was the “Third report of the DLB consortium,” which was published in 2005. That “Third report” is the key diagnostic guide for Dementia with Lewy Bodies. You can find the criteria on the Brain Support Network website here:
www.brainsupportnetwork.org/
So…I started digging around on PubMed and discovered that you’d have to pay for the “Third report” but there’s an associated “Patient Page” that is free. I think this “Patient Page” is designed to be given to patients and families by their neurologists. It’s an understandable two-page description of DLB and other forms of dementia.
Here’s the citation for the “Patient Page.”
Neurology. 2005 Dec 27;65(12):E26-7.
Patient page. Not all dementia is Alzheimer: dementia with Lewy bodies.
Knopman D, Jankowiak J.
PubMed ID#: 16380603
Here are links to the “Patient Page,” available for free online:
www.neurology.org/cgi/content/
www.neurology.org/cgi/reprint/
This might be a useful document to share with your general neurologist or primary care physician.