This is part of an occasional series of stories on Lewy body dementia, other dementias, and end of life issues, by a long-time writer who happens to have LBD.
The chart is a 10-question check-up list to help doctors use symptoms and circumstances to more accurately diagnose the disease.. There is no known cause and no cure for this disease which shortens lifespans.
Here it is.
The Lewy Body Composite Risk Score
| Rate the following symptoms as being present or absent for at least three times over the past six months. Does the patient: | Yes | No |
| 1) Have slowness in initiating and maintaining movement or have frequent hesitations or pauses during movement? | ||
| 2) Have rigidity (with or without cogwheeling) on passive range of motion in any of the four extremities? | ||
| 3) Have a loss of postural stability with or without frequent falls? | ||
| 4) Have a tremor at rest in any of the four extremities or head? | ||
| (5) Have excessive daytime sleepiness and/or seem drowsy and lethargic when awake? | ||
| 6) Have episodes of illogical thinking or incoherent, random thoughts? | ||
| 7) Have frequent staring spells or periods of blank looks? | ||
| 8)Appear to act out his/her dreams (kick, punch, thrash, shout or scream) while still asleep?
9) Visual hallucinations (see things not really there)? (10) Have orthostatic hypotension or other signs of autonomic insufficiency |
© Copyright 2013 The Lewy Body Composite Risk Score James E. Galvin and New York University Langone Medical Center
NOTE from LBDA: Scores were significantly different in DLB patients compared to controls and those with Alzheimer’s. The Composite Risk Score discriminated between individuals likely to have underlying Lewy body disease from those who did not. Using a cut-off of 3, the Lewy Body Composite Risk Score had a sensitivity of 90%, meaning it identified 90% of those diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.
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See also: It’s not like we are forgetting Alzheimer Disease