Lewy body dementia

As of 2014, the Lewy body dementias were more often misdiagnosed than any other common dementia.[11] Most people with DLB had not heard of the condition prior to diagnosis; general awareness about LBD lags well behind that of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, even though LBD is the second most common dementia, after Alzheimer's.[11] It is not only frustrating for families and caregivers to find that few people, including many healthcare professionals, are knowledgeable about LBD; lack of knowledge can have significant health consequences because people with LBD have severe sensitivity to antipsychotics often used to treat the symptoms.[11] The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) and the Lewy Body Society promote awareness and provide support that helps society, by reducing costly use of healthcare, and families with LBD, by reducing stress.[11] These organizations, and others in Argentina, Australia and Japan, help raise knowledge and help families with LBD become advocates to raise awareness about the disease.[11]

His widow said Robin Williams (shown in 2011) was diagnosed on autopsy with Lewy bodies.[13][14]

The British author and poet Mervyn Peake died in 1968 and was diagnosed posthumously as a probable case of DLB in a 2003 paper published in JAMA Neurology.[15] Sahlas said his death was "variously ascribed to Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, or postencephalitic parkinsonism".[15] Based on signs in his work and letters of progressive deterioration, fluctuating cognitive decline, deterioration in visuospatial function, declining attention span, and visual hallucinations and delusions, his may be the earliest known case where DLB was found to have been the likely cause of death.[15]

Robin Williams, the American actor and comedian, committed suicide on August 11, 2014. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease,[13] and according to his widow, he experienced depression, anxiety, and increasing paranoia.[14] Upon autopsy, his widow said he was found to have diffuse DLB.[16] Ian G. McKeith, a dementia researcher and professor of old-age psychiatry, commented that DLB was still too little known, and that Williams' symptoms were explained by DLB.[17] The LBDA clarified the distinction between the term used in the autopsy report, diffuse Lewy body dementia, which is more commonly called diffuse Lewy body disease and refers to the underlying disease process, and the umbrella term, Lewy body dementia, which encompasses both PDD and DLB.[18] According to Dennis Dickson, the LBDA spokesperson, "The report confirms he experienced depression, anxiety, and paranoia, which may occur in either Parkinson's disease or dementia with Lewy bodies," adding that, in Parkinson's, "Lewy bodies are generally limited in distribution, but in DLB, the Lewy bodies are spread widely throughout the brain, as was the case with Robin Williams."[18]

Other entertainers and artists who had or died from LBD include Estelle Getty, an actress known for her role in the television series The Golden Girls,[19] Nicholas King, a US actor and horticulturist,[20] actress Dina Merrill,[21] Donald Featherstone, who created the plastic pink flamingo,[22] American radio and television host Casey Kasem,[23] and Canadian singer Pierre Lalonde.[24][25]

Individuals from industry or government who had or died from LBD are Seymour Berry, US Director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing,[26] Los Angeles Times publisher Otis Chandler,[27] Philip J. Rock, a US Democratic politician of the Illinois Senate,[28] and U.S. media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner.[29]

Arnold R. Hirsch, an American historian who taught at the University of New Orleans,[30] and Jessie Isabelle Price, an American veterinary microbiologist,[31] died from LBD.

In the sports realm, Jerry Sloan, American professional basketball player and coach, died from DLB.[32] Major League Baseball players Andy Carey,[33] and Bill Buckner died of LBD.[34] Stan Mikita, Canadian ice hockey player, was diagnosed with possible DLB,[35] but a post-mortem brain autopsy found that he had chronic traumatic encephalopathy.[36]

• Hand of God, the Amazon Prime series, deals with a judge who claims to have this type of dementia.

• Sleepwalk with Me is a book, one-man comedy, and film about a young man with relationship problems and RBD, a precursor to synucleinopathy, including LBD.[37]