Lewy body disease is a serious brain condition that affects how people think, move, and remember. It is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, but many people have never heard of it.
Lewy body disease is connected to two major illnesses: Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia. Both are caused by the same problem—tiny clumps of protein called Lewy bodies that build up in the brain.
These clumps are made from a protein called alpha-synuclein, which folds in the wrong way. When these clumps gather, they stop the brain from working properly.
This can lead to memory loss, confusion, or movement problems. If movement problems appear first, doctors may diagnose Parkinson’s disease. If memory and thinking problems come first, it may be called Lewy body dementia. But the cause is the same—Lewy bodies in the brain.
Until now, doctors could only confirm Lewy body disease by examining the brain after death. This made it hard to diagnose the condition early. But now, scientists from Lund University in Sweden have made a big step forward.
They have created a test that can find Lewy body disease even before symptoms start. Their results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.
The new test works by looking at cerebrospinal fluid, which is the fluid around the brain and spinal cord. This fluid can show signs of diseases happening in the brain. The researchers studied over 1,100 people who had no memory or movement problems at the time.
They were surprised to find that about 10% of these people already had signs of Lewy bodies in their brain fluid. This means the disease had started quietly, before any symptoms appeared.
Over time, some of these people began to have memory and thinking problems. Some were later diagnosed with Parkinson’s or Lewy body dementia. This shows the test might help find the disease years before it becomes obvious.
One interesting finding was that many people with early signs of the disease had trouble with their sense of smell. Even though they felt healthy, they couldn’t smell properly. Because of this, the scientists suggest a simple smell test could be used as an early warning tool. People over 60 who do poorly on the smell test could then take the spinal fluid test.
This new test gives scientists and doctors hope. Right now, researchers are working on new drugs to slow down or stop Lewy body disease. But for these drugs to work, they need to be given early—before the brain is badly damaged. This test could help make early treatment possible.
The study also found that some people with Lewy body disease had two other proteins linked to Alzheimer’s. These people got worse more quickly. Knowing this may help doctors understand how fast a patient’s condition will progress.
The scientists hope that one day, there will be a simple blood test for Lewy body disease, just like there is for Alzheimer’s. It’s harder because the disease proteins are not easy to find in the blood, but they believe it can be done.
This discovery brings new hope. Finding brain diseases early could help people live longer, more independent lives and keep their memories for as long as possible.
If you care about brain health, please read studies about Vitamin B9 deficiency linked to higher dementia risk, and cranberries could help boost memory.
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