Robin Williams' suicide

Posted: Aug 16, 2015

I saw this subject down near the bottom of the board and wanted to say that I saw a report where he had Lewy body dementia also and is very difficult to treat. Poor guy. Probably knew something was happening to him, but hallucinations, etc., aren't uncommon. Sounds very bad. "The report indicates that [Williams] was being treated for Parkinson's and that is one of the features of dementia with Lewy bodies," said Taylor. "Hallucinations are a core feature of Lewy body dementia." Treatment for this type of dementia can be challenging. The antipsychotic medications used for patients with Alzheimer's to manage psychiatric problems often are not tolerated by people with Lewy body dementia. According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, as many as 50 percent of Lewy body dementia patients placed on antipsychotic medications can experience a worsening of symptoms and the impact can even be fatal. Experts say the distribution of telltale protein deposits in the brain tend to be limited in a person with Parkinson's disease. However, in a patient with Lewy body dementia, the proteins are spread widely throughout the brain. This detail most likely could only be uncovered through an autopsy." ;