Dementia with Lewy bodies

Dementia is a general term for a group of diseases that affect different brain functions, including memory. Dementia with Lewy bodies is a common form of dementia, and you may also hear it called Lewy body dementia.

The symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies usually develop gradually. They tend to get worse over a few years.

The condition causes problems with:

• thinking speed
• language
• understanding
• judgement
• memory (although significant memory loss may not occur until later on)

People with dementia with Lewy bodies may have other symptoms too, and these can help tell it apart from other types of dementia.

Dementia with Lewy bodies is closely related to Parkinson's disease (PD). Because of this, people with the condition sometimes have stiff limbs, tremors and slow movement, and they might shuffle when they walk.

Other symptoms include:

• extreme swings between alertness and confusion or drowsiness, which can be unexpected and can change from hour to hour, or day to day
• seeing or hearing things that aren't real (hallucinations), which can range from pleasant to distressing
• fainting, unsteadiness and falls
• sleep disturbances, which can cause sleep talking or acting out dreams
• loss of facial expression
• difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
• depression

These symptoms can make daily activities very difficult.

Dementia with Lewy bodies can also lead to other health problems. These include injuries from falls and chest infections. A chest infection may happen when food is accidentally inhaled instead of swallowed.

In dementia with Lewy bodies, tiny clumps of protein called Lewy bodies form inside the nerve cells of the brain. They then build up in the parts of the brain that control memory and muscle movement.

It's not clear why this happens, or exactly how the brain gets damaged. But the chemical signals passing between brain cells are thought to be disrupted.

If you have Parkinson's disease, you are more likely to go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies. This is known as Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD).

Most people who develop dementia with Lewy bodies have no family history of it. It can also happen in people who have Parkinson's disease, who may go on to develop dementia with Lewy bodies as well.

If you're worried about your memory, or you think you may have dementia, speak to your doctor.

If you're worried about someone else, encourage them to make an appointment. You could offer to go with them.

Dementia isn't the only thing that causes memory problems. Depression, stress, some medicines and other health problems can cause them too.

Your doctor can do a few simple checks to try to find out what the cause may be. If needed, they can send you to a specialist for more tests.

There's no cure for dementia with Lewy bodies at the moment. But there are treatments that can help manage the symptoms. Your doctor or another healthcare professional can talk through the best options for you.

There are things you can do to live well with dementia for as long as possible.

Read more about living well with dementia

Your future health and social care needs will have to be assessed, and a care plan drawn up. This is a way of making sure you get the right treatment for your needs. It involves finding the areas where you may need some help, like:

• what support you or your carer need so that you can stay as independent as possible
• whether any changes need to be made to your home to make it easier to live in
• whether you need any financial assistance