People can either be diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies or Parkinson’s disease dementia. If someone is experiencing symptoms that could be LBD, they should try visiting a neurologist, rather than a general physician, to try and get an accurate diagnosis. While LBD can still only be officially diagnosed by an autopsy, doctors use the following methods to determine if someone may have LBD:
They can look for biomarkers of Lewy Body Dementia, including abnormal proteins, with the following:
- A SPECT or PET scan
- (MIBG) cardiac scintigraphy, which looks at how nerves are functioning in the heart’s blood vessels
- Sleep tests that monitor brain waves

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