Major or Mild Neurocognitive Disorder with Lewy Bodies

Prevalence

• The few population-based prevalence estimates for NCDLB available range from 0.1% to 5% of the general elderly population, and from 1.7% to 30.5% of all dementia cases.

• In brain bank (autopsy) series, the pathological lesions known as Lewy bodies are present in 20%-35% of cases of dementia.

• The male-to-female ratio is approximately 1.5:1.

Symptoms

• The criteria are met for major or mild neurocognitive disorder.

• The disorder has an insidious onset and gradual progression.

• The disorder meets a combination of core diagnostic features and suggestive diagnostic features for either probable or possible neurocognitive disorder with Lewy bodies.

Core diagnostic features

• Fluctuating cognition with pronounced variations in attention and alertness.

• Recurrent visual hallucinations that are well formed and detailed.

• Spontaneous features of parkinsonism, with onset subsequent to the development of cognitive decline.

Suggestive diagnostic features

• Meets criteria for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.

• Severe neuroleptic sensitivity.

• The disturbance is not better explained by cerebrovascular disease, another neurode- generative disease, the effects of a substance, or another mental, neurological, or systemic disorder.