Ten years ago....Who'd a thunk!
Wow.
Looking at the past posts, and talking to many people, I wasn't sure about what I could write about that wouldn't be slightly redundant...
But then, sometimes we could all use a quick refresher, yeah?!
Then it hit me - What are the Big Issues faced by LBD Patients?
I performed some searches, and realized it tended to be an arbitrary sort of topic.
For most sites, though, there was a tendency to highlight the Hallucinations and Delusions.
There was also the Medication Sensitivity.
I'd like to go with the Hallucinations and Delusions - it sounds more entertaining, and it tends to be quite broad, in many ways.
If you recall, from earlier posts, I discussed Mom having illusions of being kidnapped, held hostage, walking with her mother, and other assorted imaginings.
Well, with Lewy Body Dementia, this is normal.
In our support group, the other day, someone else began talking about how their spouse was seeing people coming into the house and taking things; Mom had the same delusion - and yet, nothing was missing, and there was no evidence of anyone but her being in the house.
Others in the group agreed - their loved ones had had much the same sort of hallucinations. I'm sure many felt a sense of relief, and others may have had a tinge of anger, wanting to believe their loved one had the better hallucination (I was one of the latter). But there we were.
I also discovered that Mom's inability to differentiate dreams from reality was also normal.
Then there were those whose afflicted ones had actual hallucinations that there were animals, or people elsewhere in the home.
So, what is causing these?
According to Brain: A Journal of Neurology. Oxford University Press. (2/1/2002, p 391-403):
there was a striking association between the distribution of temporal lobe LB and well‐formed visual hallucinations. Cases with well‐formed visual hallucinations had high densities of LB in the amygdala and parahippocampus, with early hallucinations relating to higher densities in parahippocampal and inferior temporal cortices. These temporal regions have previously been associated with visual hallucinations in other disorders. Thus, our results suggest that the distribution of temporal lobe LB is more related to the presence and duration of visual hallucinations in cases with LB than to the presence, severity or duration of dementia.
Good Golly! All these technical words! But what does it all mean?
What it means is that the outer part of the temporal lobe and the outer region of the hippocampus (which lies just beneath the temporal lobe) are covered with the Lewy Bodies. These are slowly engulfing and destroying these sections of the cerebral cortex, as they move into other regions of the brain. (See Image Below)
Therefore, the hallucinations make sense. As the bodies move around the brain, they will eventually take over more of it, eventually making it to the other regions of the brain. This has, admittedly, already begun, as we've noted with her memory, movement problems, stiffening of the right side, and lack of sensory abilities.
It's a sad tale, but it's also interesting from a clinical perspective. I've learnt more about the brain and it's functions than I probably would have otherwise. I guess Mom's still teaching me.
Visual hallucinations in Lewy body disease relate to Lewy bodies in the temporal lobe
What is the Parahippocampal Gyrus?
Wow.
Looking at the past posts, and talking to many people, I wasn't sure about what I could write about that wouldn't be slightly redundant...
But then, sometimes we could all use a quick refresher, yeah?!
Then it hit me - What are the Big Issues faced by LBD Patients?
I performed some searches, and realized it tended to be an arbitrary sort of topic.
For most sites, though, there was a tendency to highlight the Hallucinations and Delusions.
There was also the Medication Sensitivity.
I'd like to go with the Hallucinations and Delusions - it sounds more entertaining, and it tends to be quite broad, in many ways.
If you recall, from earlier posts, I discussed Mom having illusions of being kidnapped, held hostage, walking with her mother, and other assorted imaginings.
Well, with Lewy Body Dementia, this is normal.
In our support group, the other day, someone else began talking about how their spouse was seeing people coming into the house and taking things; Mom had the same delusion - and yet, nothing was missing, and there was no evidence of anyone but her being in the house.
Others in the group agreed - their loved ones had had much the same sort of hallucinations. I'm sure many felt a sense of relief, and others may have had a tinge of anger, wanting to believe their loved one had the better hallucination (I was one of the latter). But there we were.
I also discovered that Mom's inability to differentiate dreams from reality was also normal.
Then there were those whose afflicted ones had actual hallucinations that there were animals, or people elsewhere in the home.
According to Brain: A Journal of Neurology. Oxford University Press. (2/1/2002, p 391-403):
there was a striking association between the distribution of temporal lobe LB and well‐formed visual hallucinations. Cases with well‐formed visual hallucinations had high densities of LB in the amygdala and parahippocampus, with early hallucinations relating to higher densities in parahippocampal and inferior temporal cortices. These temporal regions have previously been associated with visual hallucinations in other disorders. Thus, our results suggest that the distribution of temporal lobe LB is more related to the presence and duration of visual hallucinations in cases with LB than to the presence, severity or duration of dementia.
Good Golly! All these technical words! But what does it all mean?
What it means is that the outer part of the temporal lobe and the outer region of the hippocampus (which lies just beneath the temporal lobe) are covered with the Lewy Bodies. These are slowly engulfing and destroying these sections of the cerebral cortex, as they move into other regions of the brain. (See Image Below)
Therefore, the hallucinations make sense. As the bodies move around the brain, they will eventually take over more of it, eventually making it to the other regions of the brain. This has, admittedly, already begun, as we've noted with her memory, movement problems, stiffening of the right side, and lack of sensory abilities.
It's a sad tale, but it's also interesting from a clinical perspective. I've learnt more about the brain and it's functions than I probably would have otherwise. I guess Mom's still teaching me.
Visit These Sites for More Information:
Visual hallucinations in Lewy body disease relate to Lewy bodies in the temporal lobe
What is the Parahippocampal Gyrus?
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