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and just post this publicly. Here goes:
My mother died in June after a hellacious 6-7 years of Alzheimer's (by exclusion of other dx). She had just turned 70 and in retrospect had exhibited symptoms for about 15 years. She was completely frozen by the time she died, which may have been part and parcel of the process but may also have been brought on by the use of a neuroleptic to treat the hallucinations. Now on brain autopsy it shows Lewy body disease, which of course contraindicates the use of a neuroleptic, so that may have been the cause also.
I feel terribly cruel at times and felt like the nursing home staff probably viewed me that way in having her brain examined but I finally decided to view it in the context that my mother was a very strong proponent of organ donation and this was her donation to us so we could know what my kids may have to face with me.
Anyway, back to the pathology that I just got. Here are the two dx:
A. Histopathologic changes of Alzheimer's disease along with Lewy bodies involving substantia nigra and rare cortical Lewy bodies in the cingulate gyrus consistent with dementia with Lewy bodies; see microscopic description/comment. B. Focal patchy white matter pallor with focal axonal loss; see microscopic description.
The white matter pallor thing is a curiosity to me. What does that mean? There are two pages of clinical description, ending with a paragraph about how the Alzheimer's and Lewy bodies are often considered two separate diseases and sometimes not. I read the book on the search for the genetic cure for Alzheimer's and it seemed to indicate the heritable risk for early onset is 50/50 with a parent with the disease and who knows about the late onset. Don't know what the current scientific viewpoint on this is. Does anybody know much about Lewy body disease?
Any insight appreciated.
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