My husband was diagnosed with Parkinson’s six years ago. He had no tremors, but suffered from stiffness and difficulty with balance, etc. He has now been hospitalised for an infection, and the diagnosis is Lewy body dementia with Parkinson’s symptoms. He is now living in a care home and is in a wheelchair; his condition has deteriorated very rapidly. What is the difference between Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia?

Parkinson’s and Lewy body dementia have a lot in common – in both conditions, there are clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein, known as Lewy bodies, in the nerve cells. One important difference is that cognitive symptoms (difficulties with memory and thinking, as well as hallucinations) appear much earlier in Lewy body dementia. As you describe, the condition unfortunately deteriorates more rapidly. Sometimes Parkinson’s medication can help to some extent, but not as effectively as with ‘ordinary’ Parkinson’s. /Dag Nyholm