Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

The Newcastle University research output collection, currently available on ePrints, will shortly be moving to a new open repository platform, Figshare. To prepare for the data migration we have paused adding new content to ePrints, and will resume once the new repository is launched. During this time you will continue to have access to ePrints (but no new content will appear). We will share updates here when available.

Fluctuating cognition in the Lewy body dementias

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Sean O'Dowd, Julia SchumacherORCiD, Professor David BurnORCiD, Professor Alan ThomasORCiD, Professor John-Paul TaylorORCiD

Downloads

Full text for this publication is not currently held within this repository. Alternative links are provided below where available.

Abstract

© The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Guarantors of Brain. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.Fluctuating cognition is a core diagnostic feature of dementia with Lewy bodies and is also a key clinical feature of Parkinson's disease dementia. These dementias share common pathological features and are referred to as Lewy body dementias. Whilst highly prevalent in Lewy body dementia, with up to 90% of patients experiencing the symptom at some point in the disease trajectory, clinical identification of fluctuating cognition is often challenging. Furthermore, its underlying pathophysiological processes remain unclear. However, neuroimaging and neurophysiological techniques have recently provided insight into potential drivers of the phenomenon. In this update, we review data pertaining to clinical features and underlying mechanisms of fluctuating cognition in Lewy body dementia. We collate evidence for different proposed aetiologies: fluctuating cognition as an attentional disorder, as a consequence of loss of cholinergic drive, as a manifestation of failure in neuronal efficiency and synchrony, and as a disorder of sleep/arousal. We also review data relating to putative mechanisms that have received less attention to date. Increased understanding of fluctuating cognition may help to illuminate pathophysiological mechanisms in cognitive processing in Lewy body dementia, guide future research, and facilitate the design of targeted therapeutic approaches.

Publication metadata

Author(s): O'Dowd S, Schumacher J, Burn DJ, Bonanni L, Onofrj M, Thomas A, Taylor J-P

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Brain : A Journal of Neurology

Year: 2019

Volume: 142

Issue: 11

Pages: 3338-3350

Print publication date: 01/11/2019

Online publication date: 14/08/2019

Acceptance date: 09/06/2019

ISSN (print): 0006-8950

ISSN (electronic): 1460-2156

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awz235

DOI: 10.1093/brain/awz235

PubMed id: 31411317

Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric

Share