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Published on: April 14, 2014
Vascular complications in dementia with Lewy bodies: a postmortem study
Daisuke Isojima1, Takashi Togo, Kenji Kosaka
1Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, Japan.
Neuropathology : Official Journal of the Japanese Society of Neuropathology
|September 12, 2006
Summary
Cerebrovascular lesions impact dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) differently than Alzheimer's disease (AD). While trauma-related hemorrhages are more frequent in DLB, microinfarcts are less common, potentially influencing initial symptoms.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Pathology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Cerebrovascular lesions are linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) development.
- The specific impact of cerebrovascular lesions on dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the frequency of cerebrovascular pathologies in autopsy-proven DLB and AD cases.
- To explore the relationship between cerebrovascular pathologies and clinical features in DLB.
Main Methods:
- Autopsy-proven DLB (n=25) and AD (n=63) cases were analyzed.
- Gross and microscopic examination for hemorrhages and infarctions.
- Correlation analysis between vascular pathologies and DLB clinical symptoms.
Main Results:
- Significantly more gross cerebral hemorrhages in DLB (likely trauma-related) compared to AD.
- No significant difference in gross infarctions between DLB and AD.
- Significantly fewer microscopic infarcts in DLB than AD; no difference in microscopic hemorrhages.
- Vascular complications in DLB were associated with parkinsonism as an initial symptom, unlike memory disturbance in uncomplicated DLB.
Conclusions:
- Gross hemorrhages in DLB may stem from trauma, while microinfarcts are less frequent than in AD.
- Cerebrovascular complications may influence the initial clinical presentation of DLB, particularly the onset of parkinsonism.
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