<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Although Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second most common form of dementia to Alzheimer’s disease, this more rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder remains largely unknown to the public and is under-recognised by health care professionals.Early and accurate diagnosis is complicated by many different presentations of the disease which can include a mixture of clinical features seen in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Motor and cognitive dysfunction as well as behavioural and mood disturbance are common overlapping features. What sets LBD apart however, is the variability and unpredictability of the disease and sensitivity to conventional anti-psychotic medicationsThe ambiguous nature of LBD places significant stress on caregivers and presents unique challenges for the long-term clinical management of the disease. This paper is aimed at raising awareness of LBD and proposing key nursing interventions to enhance both quality and length of life.</abstract>

Although Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second most common form of dementia to Alzheimer’s disease, this more rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder remains largely unknown to the public and is under-recognised by health care professionals.Early and accurate diagnosis is complicated by many different presentations of the disease which can include a mixture of clinical features seen in both Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Motor and cognitive dysfunction as well as behavioural and mood disturbance are common overlapping features. What sets LBD apart however, is the variability and unpredictability of the disease and sensitivity to conventional anti-psychotic medicationsThe ambiguous nature of LBD places significant stress on caregivers and presents unique challenges for the long-term clinical management of the disease. This paper is aimed at raising awareness of LBD and proposing key nursing interventions to enhance both quality and length of life.

Navigating Unchartered Waters: A Nursing Perspective on Lewy Body Dementia

Australasian Journal of Neuroscience

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

{"article-title":"Navigating Unchartered Waters: A Nursing Perspective on Lewy Body Dementia"}

Although Lewy body dementia (LBD) is the second most common form of dementia to Alzheimer’s disease, this more rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder...

Navigating Unchartered Waters: A Nursing Perspective on Lewy Body Dementia

Article Category: article

Published Online: Jun 26, 2018

Page range: 5 - 12

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/ajon-2017-009

Keywords

© 2018 Madelaine B Rañola., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.