[의학신문·일간보사=오인규 기자] Lewy body dementia can show similar symptoms to Parkinson’s disease, so be careful not to confuse it. In both diseases, body movement is slow and gait is bad, but Lewy body dementia has almost no hand tremor.
Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease are diseases caused by a protein called ‘alpha synnuclein’ that damages brain cells, but as they are distinctly different diseases, it is necessary to understand the diseases through accurate diagnosis.
Lewy body dementia is a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal protein clumps in the cerebral cortex and brainstem, resulting in brain cell damage. It is known as the second most dementia following Alzheimer’s disease dementia. Similar to, but different from, Parkinson’s disease. This is because Parkinson’s symptoms also appear in patients with Lewy body dementia.
However, there are differences from common Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s disease often begins with tremors on one side of the hand, often resulting in slow movements and a gait that takes a totter. However, in many cases, the symptoms of Parkinson’s symptoms of Lewy body dementia and hand tremor are not seen.
In addition, regarding 40% of patients with Parkinson’s disease suffer from dementia, but it appears following more than one year has passed since the onset of Parkinson’s disease. However, in dementia with Lewy bodies, dementia symptoms appear first, followed by Parkinsonian symptoms, or appear almost simultaneously.
In addition, dopamine, a treatment for Parkinson’s disease, is not effective for patients with Lewy body dementia. Memory may be normal in the early stages of Lewy body dementia, but memory gradually deteriorates as the disease progresses. It is important to diagnose and treat early Lewy body dementia because dementia drugs can have a better effect than Alzheimer’s disease dementia.
