A new study indicates that it might be possible to detect Lewy body dementia earlier than what current detection models currently are doing. This is good news for people suffering from dementia and their families if this detection model becomes more widely used in the near future.
Lewy body dementia is the second most prevalent type of dementia, with only Alzheimer’s disease being more widespread. In the past, it was not easy to determine if someone had Lewy body dementia until after they had passed away. Part of the difficulty here is that Lewy body dementia is identical to Parkinson’s disease at the level of the brain. However, when cognitive functioning is impacted more heavily than movement, it is referred to as Lewy body dementia. It is easier to diagnose Parkinson’s because the symptoms are so unique. It’s not as easy to diagnose this as a form of dementia.
The disease occurs when alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain are not able to fold and process correctly. Observing cellular processes in the brain is not easy to do with a living patient, however. This new process relies on analyzing a spinal fluid sample and has been shown to be quite effective and accurate.
Dementia of any sort can be quite difficult to watch a loved one go through. Lewy body dementia is especially difficult because there’s no known cure for the disease. Unfortunately, this is where we currently are with our medical advancements. There’s still a long way to go if we are going to give this segment of the population the care, attention, and treatment that they deserve. Studies like this can help.
This research was conducted by a team from Lund University in Sweden. They published their findings in the medical journal, Nature Medicine. Hopefully, this research helps future scientists to better understand how Lewy body dementia works. There’s no cure for this type of dementia at this point, but there are a number of things that can be done to help doctors better treat the illness and reduce the severity of symptoms.
If you have questions about how in-home care can help a loved one with dementia, we are happy to talk more with you. We understand that this is a delicate and difficult topic, and we want to be on your side. Finding senior care is a difficult enough process to begin with but when you are dealing with the emotional side of this, it becomes even harder. Having someone on your side that you can trust and depend on is a crucial part of your loved one’s wellbeing as they age.
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