Treatment and Care for Elderly Patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies Presenting with Delusional Misidentification Syndrome Including Capgras Syndrome: How to Respond and Intervene from a Neurologist's Perspective

Abstract

Aged patients with dementia with Lewy body (DLB) present with delusional misidentification syndrome and occasionally Capgras' syndrome. It is difficult to treat the DLB patients presenting with these psychiatric symptoms, as well as dementia, parkinsonism, sleep disorders, and autonomic dysfunction. In advanced stage of DLB, it is necessary to pay careful attentions to the appropriate choice of drugs as well as to improve the environment surrounding the DLB patients. At an earlier stage of DLB, before the exacerbation of illness, it is important to explain the clinical features and treatments of various symptoms for the patient, their family members, and caregivers.