DEAR DR. DONOHUE

September 3, 2010

Alzheimer's just one cause of dementia

Around Osceola

Wednesday, 01 September 2010 00:00

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: Three women who were in high school at the same time I was

have died of Lewy body dementia. Do only women have it? No one I have talked to

knows anything about it. I would appreciate any information you can provide. —

L.P.

ANSWER: Dementia is a decline in mental functioning. Memory loss is prominent.

Simple arithmetic skills (balancing a checkbook), ex-pressing oneself clearly

and logically, and making rational judgments are greatly diminished in a person

with dementia. " Dementia " is an umbrella word that covers the loss of these

basic mental functions. Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia,

but it is not the sole cause. Multiple small strokes, Binswanger's disease,

Creutzfeldt -Jakob disease and frontotemporal dementia are other causes. Second

to Alzheimer's as a cause is dementia with Lewy bodies.

Lewy bodies, named in honor of the pathologist Dr. Friedrich Lewy, who first

described them, are blobs of peculiar material within brain cells. They stain a

striking color when special dye is applied to brain tissue viewed with a

microscope. Somehow they bollix up brain function.

Definite proof of dementia with Lewy bodies rests on microscopic examination of

the brain after death. However, some unique signs of this illness make it

diagnosable during life. In addition to the symptoms of dementia, Lewy body

patients often see things that aren't there — visual hallucinations. They have

symptoms found in Parkinson's disease — muscle rigidity, slow movement, walking

disturbances with frequent falls. Patients have fluctuating alertness, periods

of lucidity intermixed with longer periods of utter confusion.

Men as well as women get this illness.

What causes it is a question that remains unanswered.

Sometimes drugs used for Alzheimer's disease improve symptoms of dementia with

Lewy bodies. Parkinson's drugs are prescribed to lessen the features of that

illness, but they do not work as well as they do in Parkinson's disease.

The booklet on Alzheimer's disease delves into the signs and treatment of that

all-too-prevalent illness. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue —

No. 903W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no

cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6 Canada with the recipient's printed name and address.

Please allow four weeks for delivery.

Source:

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