Alzheimer's disease and Dementia with Lewy bodies: How different are they?

痴呆症是一种破坏性的疾病，会影响个人的思维。随着人口老龄化，很大一部分人会变得痴呆，对这些人、他们的家庭和整个社区都产生影响（联邦和州用于这种疾病的预算高达数十亿美元）。痴呆症有许多细胞原因，最常见的被认为是阿尔茨海默病。然而，许多目前被认为患有阿尔茨海默病的人有另一种痴呆症原因-路易体痴呆症。这项研究旨在确定1）这两种类型的痴呆症有多常见（目前未知）2）如何更好地诊断它们并将它们区分开来3）大脑受到每种疾病的影响有多严重4）是否相同的基因参与了这两种疾病。我们将获得的知识将允许更好地诊断痴呆症的细胞原因，合理治疗所需的知识。

Dementia is a devastating disorder, taking the individuals mind. As the population ages, a significant proportion become demented, impacting on these individuals, their families and the community as a whole (Federal and State budgets for this disorder are costed in the billions). There are many cellular causes of dementia, the most frequent being considered Alzheimer's disease. However, many people currently thought to have Alzheimer's disease have another dementia cause - dementia with Lewy bodies. This study aims to determine 1) how common these two types of dementias are (currently unknown) 2) how better to diagnose them and tell them apart 3) how badly the brain is affected by each disorder and 4) whether the same genes are involved in both disorders. The knowledge we will gain will allow better diagnosis of the cellular causes of dementia, knowledge necessary for rational treatment.