When people think about age-related dementia, Alzheimer’s disease is the first thing that comes to mind. But radio legend Casey Kasem’s death on Sunday at age 82 has put the spotlight on a lesser-known, but still-devastating illness that robs seniors of their minds.
The condition is called Lewy body dementia, and Kasem, host of the popular “American Top 40” radio show, was diagnosed with the disease in 2013. Initially, doctors told the star he had Parkinson’s.
This is a common misdiagnosis, says Ronald Devere, M.D., author of “Memory Loss: Everything You Want to Know but Forget to Ask.”
“When you are dealing with diseases of mind, whether it is from Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, or something else, things are not always black-and-white,” he told Newsmax Health.
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Lewy body dementia afflicts 1.3 million Americans, making it the second-most common cause of progressive dementia after Alzheimer’s. It is a disorder in which abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein build up in areas of the brain that regulate behavior, cognition, and movement.
Lewy body dementia often mimics Parkinson’s disease, especially in the early course of the disease, but there are marked differences in terms of the timing in which symptoms appear, Dr. Devere said.
“People with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and stroke can get dementia and doctors may think that it’s Lewy body dementia but it isn’t,” said Dr. Devere.
According to Dr. Devere, tremors and stiffness are often among the earliest symptoms of both Lewy body disease and Parkinson’s. But in people with Lewy body disease, visual and auditory hallucinations and fluctuations in consciousness soon follow.
“People with Lewy body dementia start getting a lot of visual and auditory hallucinations. They see things and hear things that that are not there. They also fluctuate in terms of consciousness. They get very sleepy and they don’t respond for hours,” Dr. Devere said.
One test that can help provide a definitive diagnosis is something called a DaTscan, which looks for deficiencies in dopamine transmitters. Having a detailed chronology of symptoms is also very important in distinguishing one disease from another, Dr. Devere said.
“Lewy body dementia is much different than Alzheimer’s, which begins with memory loss and can also cause hallucinations. With Alzheimer’s, hallucinations usually don’t happen until end stage. Parkinson’s features in Alzheimer’s – tremors and stiffness – do not happen until much later and usually only with very severe Alzheimer’s, so this is also much different,” he said.
Prompt diagnosis is important because, although Lewy body dementia is not curable or preventable, medications, including those given for Alzheimer’s disease, can help slow its progression, he said.
“It’s also very important to educate caregivers about Lewy body dementia because they need to know how to deal with people having hallucinations without getting them agitated,” he said.
Anti-psychotic drugs can be helpful in very small doses, said Dr. Devere. Also, people with Lewy body dementia have to be carefully watched because balance is a problem, which can lead to falls and broken bones, he added.
“Generally speaking, one of the things that is helpful to anyone with Lewy body dementia is 120 minutes of aerobic exercise a week. If balance is a problem, they can use a stationary bike.
“Pet therapy, bingo, and social activities to keep the mind active also help slow progression of the disease,” Dr. Devere said.
Kasem’s last year was filled with dramatic headlines as his wife Jean and his children vied for control over his medical care. The legal drama continued until the final days of his life when a judge gave daughter Kerri Kasem the authority to have doctors end Casey’s infusions of water, food, and medicine.
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