Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is the second most common subtype of degenerative dementia. To our knowledge, available information about the clinical features of DLB in China remains limited. Our study therefore aimed to address this issue. Thirty-seven Chinese patients with probable DLB were recruited for this study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment by trained neurologists, as well as undergoing MRI, 11C-PIB PET scans for Aβ deposition and 18F-FDG PET scans for regional cerebral glucose metabolism. Our results showed that the gender ratio of patients was 16:21 (F:M). The mean age of onset was 69.5 ± 9.0 years and the mean age at diagnosis was 71.8 ± 9.1 years. At diagnosis, the prevalence of three core clinical features of DLB was: 64.9% for fluctuating cognition, 73.0% for visual hallucinations and 62.2% for parkinsonism. The result from 11C-PiB PET and 18F-FDG PET scans confirmed Aβ deposition in the cortex and demonstrated hypometabolism in the bilateral temporoparietooccipital region, the frontal lobe, the insular lobe, and the posterior cingulate, precuneus and caudate nuclei. Our study elucidated the clinical features of Chinese DLB patients, and will improve the understanding and the early diagnosis of DLB in Chinese patients.
Highlights
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), which is defined pathologically as degeneration in the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system associated with Lewy bodies (LBs) [1], was first proposed in 1996 (Perry R, 1996)
The determination of Parkinsonism was according to the diagnostic criteria defined by Calne [19], and the motor features and the severity were assessed with the Motor section of Unified Parkinson disease Rating Scale (UPDRS)
Thirty-seven DLB patients were included in this study (16 females and 21 males), with a mean onset age of 69.5 ± 9.0 years and a mean age at diagnosis of 71.8 ± 9.1 years
Summary
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), which is defined pathologically as degeneration in the central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system associated with Lewy bodies (LBs) [1], was first proposed in 1996 (Perry R, 1996). As soon as the clinical and pathological guidelines were published in the same year, the clinical diagnosis of DLB became possible [2]. Thereafter, further clinical studies showed DLB to be the second most frequent form of dementia, after Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [3, 4]. The prevalence and incidence of DLB varies widely across reported studies, and the true prevalence and incidence may be largely underestimated since DLB has remained significantly under-diagnosed [5, 6]. A recent systematic review reported that the prevalence of DLB was 0.36% in the general population and 7.5% in clinical populations; while.
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