Alzheimer Disease vs Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Alzheimer Disease and Dementia with Lewy Bodies are easy to mix up on the boards. Here's a side-by-side comparison — presentation, workup, imaging, and first-line treatment — drawn from our full outlines.
Alzheimer Disease vs Dementia with Lewy Bodies at a glance
- Alzheimer Disease: Most common neurodegenerative dementia; insidious memory loss with cortical amyloid and tau pathology.
- Dementia with Lewy Bodies: Neurodegenerative dementia with fluctuating cognition, recurrent visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, and REM sleep behavior disorder.
Keep comparing — start your free trial
You've used your 2 free previews. Create your free account to see the full Alzheimer Disease vs Dementia with Lewy Bodies comparison — plus all 514 diagnosis outlines, 5,500+ board-style questions, and an AI tutor. Your 7-day free trial includes everything, no credit card required.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | Alzheimer Disease | Dementia with Lewy Bodies |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | Most common neurodegenerative dementia; insidious memory loss with cortical amyloid and tau pathology. | Neurodegenerative dementia with fluctuating cognition, recurrent visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, and REM sleep behavior disorder. |
| Classic presentation | Profound short-term memory loss with relatively preserved older memories and intact remote procedural memory; hippocampal/medial temporal atrophy on MRI.;… | Elderly patient with fluctuating cognition + well-formed visual hallucinations + parkinsonism + history of acting out dreams.; Cognitive fluctuations:… |
| Workup / key labs | NIA-AA: probable AD dementia = insidious onset, progressive cognitive decline, predominant memory or non-amnestic syndrome, exclusion of other causes.… | McKeith 2017 criteria: dementia + core features (fluctuating cognition, visual hallucinations, RBD, parkinsonism). Probable DLB = ≥2 core features OR 1 core +… |
| Imaging | MRI brain (or CT if MRI contraindicated): generalized and disproportionate medial temporal/hippocampal atrophy; excludes vascular disease, NPH, masses,… | MRI brain — relative sparing of medial temporal lobes (vs prominent hippocampal atrophy in AD); DaTscan SPECT — reduced striatal dopamine transporter uptake… |
| First-line treatment | Cholinesterase inhibitor (AChE inhibitor) — donepezil, rivastigmine (oral or transdermal patch), galantamine; modest symptomatic benefit for mild-to-moderate… | Cholinesterase inhibitors — rivastigmine (oral or transdermal), donepezil, galantamine — among the most responsive dementias to these agents; reduce… |
Drill Alzheimer Disease vs Dementia with Lewy Bodies questions on FirstPassPA
Turn this comparison into retention. 5,500+ board-style questions with an AI tutor that explains every answer — free to start, no card required.
Start studying free → Try today's free questionEducational use only. This outline is a study aid for PA students and is not medical advice or a substitute for clinical judgment. FirstPassPA is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCCPA. PANCE® and PANRE® are registered trademarks of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.