According to experts, Lewy Body Disease is the second leading cause of dementia symptoms after Alzheimer's disease. However, there are few people who have heard about Lewy Body Disease.
Patients with LBD often exit the doctor's office after diagnosing Parkinson's disease or Alzheimer's disease. Although at the moment none of these diseases are treatable, there are major differences in the way medically treated.
Parkinson 's medicine has a serious negative effect on the cognitive function of those who actually have Lewy bodies. A patient who is being treated with a part of psychiatric medication used to treat Alzheimer's symptoms may actually develop a severe Parkinsonian syndrome if it actually has Lewy body disease than Alzheimer's disease There is.
Symptoms of Lewy body disease
Many LBD patients firstly have symptoms such as Parkinson's disease, so they will see a doctor.
An experienced doctor who knows carefully to evaluate symptoms first looks for a steady loss of short-term memory, sleep problems and unusual personality and mood changes. In addition to these fairly common symptoms common to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, the physician should be aware of hallucinations, frequent depression, shuffled walking, tendency to tilt to one side when sitting or walking, finding the right word It is difficult, and problems with the completion of tasks once started.
The problems of urine and constipation, direction sense disorder, depth perception disorder, new problems related to regulation of blood pressure and body temperature (too hot or too cold mood), and increased swallowing difficulties also in some Lewy body patients Has been done.
Increasingly poor judgment, delusions, shaky mood swings, and in many cases tend to spit physically and frequently in LBD.
Lewy body disease is most commonly seen between 50 and 85 years of age. Men are slightly more common than women, but it applies to both. Physical symptoms may be debilitating for patients, but the biggest challenge for caregivers is usually to deal with the mental changes associated with this disease.
Treatment of Lewy body disease
There is no cure for LBD. Treatment may be difficult as many patients are less tolerant to the type of drug given to aid motor and cognitive disorders associated with LBD. Patients with LBD are sensitive to drugs routinely prescribed for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and may be onset of symptoms, so under the treatment of an experienced neurologist or a neuropsychiatrist Something is very important.
This is an ongoing process that often makes small changes to drug therapy before appropriate treatment programs are identified. As the disease progresses, the doctor will continue to monitor the effectiveness of the program and continue the adjustment.
The goal of Lewy Body Disease's treatment is to ensure continuity of experts who understand the LBD in order to make patients comfortable and satisfying and to support the caregiver's needs. Early diagnosis and treatment increase the choices of caregivers and allow people suffering from Lee Body disease to stay longer at home and comfortably.
