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Lewy Bodies More Frequent in Brains of Patients with Cerebral Atherosclerosis: Presented at ANA By Jacquelyn Beals WASHINGTON, DC -- October 17, 2007 -- Lewy bodies (LB), previously associated with dementias that resemble Parkinson's Disease (PD) and Alzheimer's Disease (AD), are also found more frequently in the brains of patients with cerebral atherosclerosis (AthS), according to research presented here at the Annual Meeting of the American Neurological Association (ANA). Senior author Lawrence S. Honig, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Clinical Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York, and his colleagues examined the brains of subjects from the Columbia University Medical Center data bank. "There is little information on possible relationships between cerebrovascular pathology and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB)," noted Dr. Honig. To remedy this deficit, the study examined 403 brains collected from 1990 to 2007, and found LBs in 106 (26%). Cerebral atherosclerosis (AthS) was moderate-to-severe in 132 brains (33%), mild in 147 brains (37%), and absent in 124 brains (31%). LBs were present in 36% of the moderate-to-severe AthS brains, in 23% of the mild AthS brains, and in 19% of the brains without AthS (P =.005). This study analysed the effects of covariates, including "gender, death age, and AD pathological changes." Compared to brains without AthS, brains with mild AthS had a higher odds ratio (OR) for LB presence (OR = 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI).56 – 2.02). Brains with moderate-to-severe AthS had an even higher odds ratio of 2.20 (95% CI 1.15 – 4.24, P =.01). Clinicians frequently have difficulty differentiating between DLB and PD, or between DLB and AD. Lewy bodies occur in the brains of patients with either PD or AD. Symptoms of DLB may include memory loss, concentration problems, and difficulty with reasoning or problem-solving. Fluctuating mental abilities are more typical of DLB than of other dementias. PD-like movements, hallucinations, and delusions may also develop, but DLB patients are often sensitive to the neuroleptic drugs given to control these problems. The study noted several patterns of association between LB and other variables: · Patients with LB changes died at older ages than patients without LBs (P =.01), were more highly educated, and were usually male; · Patients with AthS died at older ages than patients without AthS (P <.001), and showed more changes characteristic of AD; · There was a stronger association between LB and AthS in females, and in patients lacking AD pathology. The investigators concluded that Lewy bodies are associated with cerebral atherosclerosis, and that the burden of LBs seems to be related to increasing levels of AthS severity. First described in 1914 by Frederick Lewy, Lewy Bodies -- inclusions of alpha-synuclein protein -- accumulate in the nuclei of neurons in brain regions that control movement and memory. [Presentation title: Lewy Body Pathology and Cerebral Atherosclerosis. Abstract T-24] E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version