Neuropathology of dementia with Lewy bodies in advanced age: a comparison with A

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Neuropathology of dementia with Lewy bodies in advanced age: a comparison with

Alzheimer disease.

September 2010

Abstract

Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) is a common neurodegenerative disorder of the

aging population characterized by ¦Á-synuclein accumulation in cortical and

subcortical regions. Although neuropathology in advanced age has been

investigated in dementias such as Alzheimer Disease (AD), severity of the

neuropathology in the oldest old with DLB remains uncharacterized. For this

purpose we compared characteristics of DLB cases divided into three age groups

70-79, 80-89 and ¡Ý 90 years (oldest old). Neuropathological indicators and

levels of synaptophysin were assessed and correlated with clinical measurements

of cognition and dementia severity. These studies showed that frequency and

severity of DLB was lower in 80-89 and ¡Ý 90 year cases compared to 70-79 year

old group but cognitive impairment did not vary with age. The extent of AD

neuropathology correlated with dementia severity only in the 70-79 year group,

while synaptophysin immunoreactivity more strongly associated with dementia

severity in the older age group in both DLB and AD. Taken together these results

suggest that the oldest old with DLB might represent a distinct group.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20849919