Levodopa treatment and mood fluctuation in dementia with Lewy bodies: a case report

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (L-dopa) has been the gold standard for pharmacotherapy for parkinsonism in patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). While L-dopa treatment is related to visual hallucinations, its relationship to mood fluctuation in DLB is poorly understood. Herein, we report the improvement of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia through the adjustment of L-dopa treatment in a 78-year-old woman with probable DLB. Her marked mood swings were improved by changing L-dopa administration from three to five times per day while maintaining the same total daily dosage. This observation suggests that there may be an association between plasmatic L-dopa levels and mood fluctuation in patients with DLB. This pharmacological approach may be useful in the management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia without the use of antipsychotic agents to avoid severe neuroleptic sensitivity, which is one of the suggestive clinical features in the Third Consortium on DLB clinical criteria.