Dear Joe,
Thanks to you and to all who've sent me information on Lewy Body Disease
-- it's been a great help, and I've passed it on to my colleague as well
as saving it in my own files.
This list is a wonderful resource!!
Best regards,
Kathrynne


"J. R. Bruman" wrote:
>
> For Kathrynne and others who may be interested in DLBD: Here are
> 4 references from my CSR files, which are also in the Parkinsn
> list Archives: You can get abstracts from Medline, but if this
> is sufficient, it's probably easier to locate. (Sorry to be late
> with this- my ISP is going nuts and I couldn't log on.)
>
> Hely M et al; J Neur Neurosurg Psy 1996;60:531-538:
> Diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) looks like PD at first but also
> includes dementia, either at onset or later in progression.
>
> Albin R et al; Neur 1996;47:462-466:
> Six demented patients were studied by FD-PET, which can show local
> distribution of dopamine metabolism, and CAT scan. Five of the six
> showed some clinical signs of PD, and two who responded to levodopa
> were so diagnosed. On autopsy later, all six were found to have
> Diffuse Lewy Body Disease, a condition much more pervasive and
> disabling than PD. Five of the six reported visual hallucinations,
> and the two diagnosed with PD while living were distinct in having
> "cognitive fluctuations". Despite past impression, apparently
> FD-PET failed to distinguish DLBD from PD.
>
> Louis E et al;Neur 1997;48:376-380:
> While Lewy bodies are always present in PD, some consider PD to be
> a distinct member of a family of Lewy-body diseases. Authors
> believe, for example, that up to 88% of diffuse Lewy-body disease
> (DLBD) cases are misdiagnosed as PD. To test the hypothesis, they
> analyzed clinical signs of 31 pathologically (postmortem) verified
> DLBD cases and 34 similarly studied PD cases. There were no
> differences in rigidity, bradykinesia, dystonia, or gaze palsy,
> but DLBD cases had older onset, more common myoclonus, less common
> rest tremor, and less common response to or perceived need for
> levodopa. Any one of the last 4 signs is 10 times more likely to
> indicate DLBD.
>
> Litvan I et al; Arch Neur 1998;55:969-978:
> Presence of Lewy bodies is no longer considered essential to
> diagnosis of PD, and there is some question as to whether PD and
> dementia with Lewy bodies are two distinct diseases or not. The
> authors had 6 neurologists review clinical records of a diverse
> cohort, and compared their opinions with autopsy findings.
>
> --
> J. R. Bruman   (818) 789-3694
> 3527 Cody Road
> Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013

--
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD
"Nutrition you can live with!"
Medical nutrition therapy
http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/
Tel: 970-493-6532 // Fax: 970-493-6538
"If we knew what it was we were doing,
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would it?" -Albert Einstein