루이소체 치매의 진단과 치료

Diagnosis and Management of Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is considered the second most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia. It is charac-terized with clinical and pathological feature that distinguish it from Alzheimer’s disease (AD). These characteristics include fluc-tuating cognition, visual hallucination, and spontaneous feature of parkinsonism. DLB is commonly accompanied by neuropsy-chiatric symptoms and recent literature suggests that behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPDS) are frequently associated with DLB. So, psychiatrist caring for older adults may need a greater awareness of the clinical presentations of DLB in order to make a timely diagnosis. Also geriatric psychiatrist need to increase knowledge in order to raise awareness about the risks and benefits of medications in patients with DLB and to provide practical information and support for caregivers. This arti-cle reviews the clinical syndrome of DLB and its management.