LEWY BODY VARIANT OF ALZHEIMER DISEASE

Background. Clinicopathological studies indicate that Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative cause of dementia, the other frequent causes are AD combined with diffuse Lewy bodies and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) by itself. When histological features of AD and DLB are found together in one brain we speak about Lewy body variant of AD (LBVAD). Beside global cognitive impairment LBVAD patients show signs of subcortical dementia and mild extrapiramidal signs. Methods and results. We present two patients with post-mortem diagnosis of LBVAD. Clinical and pathomorphological characteristics of the disease are discussed. Conclusions. Post-mortem studies show that LBVAD is the second most common cause of dementia, following AB.