Alzheimers Dement
Lewy body dementia often missed: Insights from NACC autopsy data
A study using the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) dataset found that less than half of individuals with autopsy-confirmed neocortical Lewy body disease (LBD) had received a clinical diagnosis of LBD. LBD diagnosis showed high specificity but low sensitivity; Alzheimer’s disease (AD) was the most common misdiagnosis, especially among females and those with a more amnestic phenotype or greater AD co-pathology. Misdiagnosed cases were less likely to have documented LBD features.
Clinical takeaway: Consider LBD in patients with atypical dementia presentations. Study authors highlight that the emergence of α-synuclein biomarkers in CSF and skin offers a new approach to enhance diagnostic sensitivity.
Source:
Goodheart AE, et al. (2025, October 21). Alzheimers Dement. Towards optimizing the diagnosis of Lewy body dementia: Lessons from the NACC. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41117431/