First of all, I’d like to thank those of you who’ve already voted for the blog, for all those who’ve made comments and to those of you who like the new blog look. I keep experimenting with different themes………I think I’ll stick with this one. It gives me a few more options which I can use over time. Plus it just seems easier to read.
I thought I’d post a little review on the symptoms of Lewy Body Dementia.
In this section we’ll discuss each of the symptoms, starting with the key word: dementia. Dementia is a process whereby the person becomes progressively confused. The earliest signs are usually memory problems, changes in their way of speaking, such as forgetting words, and personality problems. Cognitive symptoms of dementia include poor problem solving, difficulty with learning new skills and impaired decision making.
Other causes of dementia should be ruled out first, such as alcoholism, overuse of medication, thyroid or metabolic problems. Strokes can also cause dementia. If these reasons are ruled out then the person is said to have a degenerative dementia. Lewy Body Dementia is second only to Alzheimer’s disease as the most common form of dementia.
Fluctuations in cognition will be noticeable to those who are close to the person with LBD, such as their partner. At times the person will be alert and then suddenly have acute episodes of confusion. These may last hours or days. Because of these fluctuations, it is not uncommon for it to be thought that the person is “faking”. This fluctuation is not related to the well-known “sundowning” of Alzheimer’s. In other words, there is no specific time of day when confusion can be seen to occur.
Hallucinations are usually, but not always, visual and often are more pronounced when the person is most confused. They are not necessarily frightening to the person. Other modalities of hallucinations include sound, taste, smell, and touch.
Parkinsonism or Parkinson’s Disease symptoms, take the form of changes in gait; the person may shuffle or walk stiffly. There may also be frequent falls. Body stiffness in the arms or legs, or tremors may also occur. Parkinson’s mask (blank stare, emotionless look on face), stooped posture, drooling and runny nose may be present.
REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is often noted in persons with Lewy Body Dementia. During periods of REM sleep, the person will move, gesture and/or speak. There may be more pronounced confusion between the dream and waking reality when the person awakens. RBD may actually be the earliest symptom of LBD in some patients, and is now considered a significant risk factor for developing LBD. (One recent study found that nearly two-thirds of patients diagnosed with RBD developed degenerative brain diseases, including Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple system atrophy, after an average of 11 years of receiving an RBD diagnosis. All three diseases are called synucleinopathies, due to the presence of a mis-folded protein in the brain called alpha-synuclein.)
Sensitivity to neuroleptic (anti-psychotic) drugs is another significant symptom that may occur. These medications can worsen the Parkinsonism and/or decrease the cognition and/or increase the hallucinations. Neuroleptic Malignancy Syndrome, a life-threatening illness, has been reported in persons with Lewy Body Dementia. For this reason, it is very important that the proper diagnosis is made and that healthcare providers are educated about the disease.
Other Symptoms
Visuospatial difficulties, including depth perception, object orientation, directional sense and illusions may occur.
Autonomic dysfunction, including blood pressure fluctuations (e.g. postural/orthostatic hypotension) heart rate variability (HRV), sexual disturbances/impotence, constipation, urinary problems, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), decreased sweating/heat intolerance, syncope (fainting), dry eyes/mouth, and difficulty swallowing which may lead to aspiration pneumonia.
Other psychiatric disturbances may include systematized delusions, aggression and depression. The onset of aggression in LBD may have a variety of causes, including infections (e.g., UTI), medications, misinterpretation of the environment or personal interactions, and the natural progression of the disease.
All right now. Enough of some serious material. Now it’s time to play. These are the kind of puzzles which make me feel really smart. The more I do, the smarter I feel. I hope they help you just as much.
Boys and Sports
by Shelly Hazard
Wilma and three other women were comparing notes about the achievements of their sons. Each son had a favorite sport and each was a star player. The boys ranged in age from 10 years old to 13 years old. Determine the full name of each mother, the name of her son, the sport each son played, and how old each son was.
1. Sara Copper’s son, who wasn’t Brian, didn’t play soccer.
2. The boy who played basketball was the youngest. Mrs. Green’s son was a year younger than the boy who played baseball but a year older than Sara’s son.
3. The oldest boy, who wasn’t Mark, was Sharon’s son but he didn’t play hockey.
4. The boy who played baseball was a year older than the boy who played hockey.
5. From youngest to oldest, the boys were Mark, Teresa’s son, Mrs. Silver’s son, and Eric.
6. Mrs. Wild’s son was two years older than Chris.
Click here for the Solution
Warmly………David
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Filed under: Brain Training, Caregivers for Individuals with Dementia, Dementia, Humor, Lewy Body Dementia | Tagged: Alzheimer's Disease, antipsychotic, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, hallucinations, LBD, LBDA, Lewy Body Dementia, Lewy Body Dementia Association, logic, Neuroleptic Malignancy Syndrome, Parkinson's Disease, REM sleep behavior disorder, sundown, visuospatial | 3 Comments »
Deadline for submission of your answers will be next Tuesday, January 27th, 2009. Good luck and enjoy playing around with it.
