In the later stages of the disease, they often depend entirely on others for assistance and care. As the disease advances, people with LBD require more help due to a decline in thinking and movement abilities. In the early stages of LBD, symptoms can be mild, and people can function fairly normally. How quickly symptoms develop and change varies greatly from person to person, depending on overall health, age, and severity of symptoms.

The disease lasts an average of five to eight years from the time of diagnosis to death, but can range from two to 20 years for some people. It is a progressive disease, meaning symptoms start slowly and worsen over time. Lewy body dementia can occur alone or along with other brain disorders. Early LBD symptoms are often confused with similar symptoms found in other brain diseases or in psychiatric disorders. LBD appears to affect slightly more men than women.ĭiagnosing LBD can be challenging. People typically show symptoms at age 50 or older, although sometimes younger people have LBD. LBD affects more than 1 million individuals in the United States. Lewy body dementia is one of the most common causes of dementia. These deposits, called Lewy bodies, affect chemicals in the brain whose changes, in turn, can lead to problems with thinking, movement, behavior, and mood. Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a disease associated with abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein in the brain.

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