Abstract
Repeated falls are reported as one of the clinical characteristics in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB). We examined the incidence of fall-related injuries in 561 dementia patients with various clinical diagnoses, including DLB and Alzheimer's disease (AD), in a ward established for dementia research. The incidence of fall-related injuries was significantly higher in DLB patients (10.7%) than in AD patients (1.1%) (P < 0.001). The high incidence in those patients with DLB cannot be attributed to Parkinsonism because none of the DLB patients with injuries showed extrapyramidal sign. Our observations suggest that patients with a clinical diagnosis of DLB have a high risk of fall-related injuries, even though they do not show Parkinsonism. An appropriate clinical discrimination between DLB and AD is recommended to manage and prevent fall-related injuries.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 77-79 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | European Journal of Neurology |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2000 |
Keywords
- Alzheimer's disease
- Cognitive fluctuation
- Dementia
- Dementia with Lewy bodies
- Falls
- Parkinsonism
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neurology
- Clinical Neurology