LBD

[Guest guest]

Hi Tammy,

Welcome here. You will find a vast amount of information about LBD

on this forum, so feel free to ask any and every question that pops

into your mind. As many will attest to, I have done that time and

time again.

You mentioned that your Dad has had PD for about 13 years and was

just diagnosed with LBD. Mind if I ask you what exactly led to his

diagnosis of LBD? Was he having hallucinations, cognitive problems,

etc.? My FIL was 67 when he was diagnosed with PD and a " touch " of

LBD two years ago. He has gone from being fully funtioning, both

mentally and physically, to someone who has completely lost his

independence. Currently, he can't do simple math, has terrible

episodes of freezing and rigidity, and has frequent bad falls. He

is often delusional and obsessive. He has tremors, but the Sinemet

he's on really doesn't bring any relief. He can no longer dress

himself or bathe or wash his own hair. He needs assistance with

walking, using the bathroom, getting into and out of cars, bed, and

chairs. His decline since his diagnosis has been rapid and it seems

to be getting worse. Just this week, my MIL said she is going to

look into getting someone to come into their home and help her care

for my FIL. She simply can't do it on her own anymore. My FIL was

driving until about 6 or so months ago. He hit a neighbors mailbox

and drove off in the car without my MIL knowing about it. It took

her an hour or more to find him. When she did, he was wandering

aimlessly about in the parking lot of their church, not knowing

where he was. At first, we all thought that the problems I've

described here were due to the PD, but with the rapid decline he's

gone through, we tend to believe it's more of the LBD.

Sorry to dump all of this on you. I just believe the more open and

honest people are about this disease, the better prepared we might

be for what can happen in the future.

I wish you and your family the best in this journey.

April

GA.

In LBDcaregivers , " family020203 "

wrote:

>

> Hello, My father is 60 yrs old and has had parkinson for about 13

> years. He has know been diagnosed with LBD which we find is very

> hard. He has always been an active man, married 42 years to our

mom,

> he has 3 daughters and 7 grandkids. We are hoping to talk to other

> families for support as we do not want to believe that this is

> happening to a previously healthy out going man, His moods change

so

> much. I had him at my home yest and he was terrible to deal with

> then within about 1 1/2 hours he changed to be a normal outgoing

man

> (like he was 2 years ago. Then around 8pm he changed back to

needing

> assistants with walking etc. The bathroom seems to be a major

issue

> with him as she feels like he has to take a bowel movement all the

> time (is this common with LBD) We have had to put him in a nursing

> home as my mom can not handle him on a full time bases and

> unfortutaly myself and my sisters all work and have small

children.

> I hold a quilt that I can't be there everyday all day but I have

to

> deal with my own family. It is just so hurt full to see h im when

he

> is having a bad time.

> I am hoping by going on this site that myself or even my mom can

> talk to other people dealing with this situation.

> Thank you so much

>

> Tammy

> Vancouver Canada

>

[Guest guest]

Tammy,

Right after my name you should be able to click on the LBDA site. It has lots

of info, including the last 3 newsletters, the Brochure, (which I can send you

if you would like) and lots of others experiences.

You might want to check it out and copy and give to your Mom or other family

members.

Hope this helps.

Donna R

Do you want to read more about Lewy Body? You can also read the Thistle, the

LBD Newsletter. Just click on:

http://www.lewybodydementia.org

LBD

[Guest guest]

Parkinson's expert Dr. Lieberman sent this to me today. If you

aren't already on his email list I recommend it. His website is most

informative.

http://www.liebermanparkinsonclinic.com/

Lewy body dementia: the litmus test for neuroleptic sensitivity and

extra-pyramidal symptoms.

Baskys A.

University of California at Irvine, USA.

Lewy body dementia, also referred to as dementia with Lewy bodies

(DLB), is a neurodegenerative disorder now considered to be the

second most common cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

Postmortem findings suggest that DLB accounts for 20% to 34% of all

dementia cases and is often under-diagnosed.

Salient features of DLB include fluctuations in cognition, perceptual

abnormalities (e.g., visual hallucinations), and mild parkinsonism.

Other symptoms include frequent falls, nighttime agitation, and

depression.

DLB symptomatology can be partly explained by the extensive

destruction of dopaminergic and acetyl-cholinergic pathways caused by

neurodegeneration. For this reason, DLB patients are especially

vulnerable to the anti-dopaminergic and anticholinergic actions of

most conventional anti-psychotics, which makes treatment of the

psychotic symptoms of DLB extremely difficult.

Patients are particularly sensitive to developing extrapyramidal

symptoms (EPS) and also to the potentially fatal complication of

neuroleptic sensitivity (including neuroleptic malignant syndrome).

The above complications affect approximately 50% of DLB patients.

Therefore, a need exists for anti-psychotic drugs with less

propensity to induce EPS and reduced affinity for dopamine and

acetylcholine receptors. Here we review studies evaluating the

efficacy and tolerability of atypical anti-psychotics for the

treatment of psychoses associated with DLB.

Olanzapine appears to be poorly tolerated, and risperidone has been

associated with high risk of NMS. Clozapine use remains

controversial because of its potent anticholinergic action and risk

of agranulocytosis. Quetiapine has been shown to reduce psychiatric

manifestations of DLB without causing neuroleptic sensitivity or

increasing EPS. Hence, quetiapine is an attractive candidate for the

treatment of psychoses in DLB and other dementias.