Symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies
DLB symptoms usually start in people older than 50, but cases in younger people have been reported. Symptoms vary and progress differently from person to person.
The most common symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies affect movement, cognition (mental function), sleep, mood, behavior, and automatic (autonomic) processes such as heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and body temperature regulation through sweating.
Dementia with Lewy bodies is a form of atypical parkinsonism. People with DLB often have symptoms that are similar to Parkinson's disease, including:
- Slowed movements (bradykinesia)
- Stiffness (rigidity)
- Tremors
Other DLB symptoms affecting movement may include:
- Balance problems and frequent falling
- Decreased facial expression
- Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- Loss of coordination
- Shuffling or freezing during walking
- Smaller handwriting than normal (micrographia)
A common feature of dementia with Lewy bodies is mental function that changes from day to day or even within the same day. People with DLB switch from moments of alertness and attention to periods of confusion and unresponsiveness.
DLB symptoms affecting cognition may include:
- Inability to perform two or more tasks at once
- Memory loss (usually later on in the disease process)
- Poor judgment and problems with decision-making
- Problems with planning, reasoning, and problem-solving
- Trouble focusing or staying awake
- Trouble with depth perception and hand-eye coordination
- Visual hallucinations (seeing things that are not really there) affect about 80 percent of people with DLB and often begin in the earlier stages of the disease
People with DLB commonly experience sleep disorders, including:
- Changes in sleep patterns
- Excessive daytime sleepiness or napping during the day
- Insomnia
- Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder
- Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
- Trouble telling dreams from reality after waking
People with DLB may experience changes in mood or behavior, including:
- Anxiety
- Delusions (false beliefs or opinions that the person believes are true but are not in reality)
- Depression
- Lack of interest in events or daily activities
- Paranoia
- Restlessness, irritability, agitation, or aggression
- Social withdrawal
Dysautonomia refers to problems affecting the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which controls processes in the body that are not under voluntary control. These processes include blood pressure, breathing, heart rate, digestion, and regulating internal body temperature.
Dysautonomia symptoms of dementia with Lewy bodies may include:
- Constipation
- Dizziness or fainting spells
- Increased sensitivity to heat and cold
- Large drops in blood pressure, especially with changes in position (orthostatic hypotension)
- Problems with bowel or bladder control (incontinence)
- Sexual dysfunction
- Trouble regulating body temperature