Lewy Body Dementia Symptoms
Lewy body dementia is a condition that affects not only your thought process, but also your capacity for movement. Often referred to as a dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), alpha-synuclein proteins begin to develop within portions of the brain, progressively deteriorating your cognition and motor skills. This usually causes symptoms similar to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.
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Hallucinations
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One of the most common symptoms of Lewy body dementia is hallucinations. Actually, it is frequently the first symptom you experience at the onset of this condition. Some people begin to see shapes and colors in their line of vision. For others, it manifests as objects, animals and even people that aren't actually there. These hallucinations are often so real that you're unable to discern between fact and fiction.
Cognitive Degeneration
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You'll regularly notice an increased amount of confusion or uncertainty with everyday tasks and activities. Lewy body dementia also causes an ever-increasing level of memory loss with familiar people, places and time. Your attention or focus can deteriorate as dementia sets in.
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Motor Skills
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As Lewy body dementia progresses, you usually begin to suffer from problems with motor skills. Your muscles may become more rigid or inflexible than normal, prompting a reduced capacity in your arm and leg movements. You may also begin to experience a slowed response to stimuli or instructions. Your muscles may twitch or spasm without instigation. Balance and posture may become increasingly impaired. Automatic movements, like blinking or gesturing when speaking, may cease.
Sleep Disruptions
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Lewy body dementia is known to affect your capacity to sleep, especially during rapid eye movement (REM) cycles. When this happens, you begin to "act out" those activities that are occurring within your dreams. This prompts many people to talk, kick, punch and even spring out of bed during this portion of rest, which can disrupt your sleep.
Delusions
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It's also quite common for Lewy body dementia to cause delusions, which are essentially false beliefs that contradict the truth or facts. This can be a delusion about yourself, someone you love or even a stranger, but it may cause you to react to situations abnormally.
Lethargy
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Another fairly common symptom of Lewy body dementia is lethargy. This may manifest as pronounced drowsiness or fatigue. It may also come about as an overall inattentiveness or inattention to that which is around you. In some cases, the condition can cause you to simply stare into space for periods of time.
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