[Dementia in diffuse cortical Lewy body disease]

Diffuse Lewy body disease has not been yet described in France, although some authors, essentially Japanese ones reported cases of this disease. A man began at age 56 to be very apathetic with memory disturbances. Later, he developed aphasia, stereotypies, and mild parkinsonian rigidity. He died in cachexia, three years after the onset of the disease. Post-mortem examination showed diffuse senile plaques and tangles in the cortex. But there was also a striking widening of Lewy bodies, in the pons and in the frontal, temporal and cingular cortex. These Lewy bodies were located in the 5th cortical layer, and their immature and irregular shape made them difficult to identify. The authors discuss the role of each lesions on the clinical disturbances, in regard to other described cases.