In 1923 Friederich Lewy published a monograph containing neurological, psychiatric and neuropathological data on 43 patients with parkinsonism, of whom 21 were demented. Subsequent studies around the world have raised the profile of this form of dementia, suggesting that it may be more common than previously suspected - perhaps the second most common cause of degenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease. This book, which represents the first authoritative statement about dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), arises from a workshop held in Newcastle, England, in October 1995, which brought together leading investigators with clinical and research experience of this condition. It includes review articles, case studies and recent research findings from the main centers studying DLB. The aims of the workshop, and of this volume, were to establish clinical diagnostic criteria and pathological protocols for DLB, and to explore evidence indicating that DLB patients may be more responsive to symptomatic therapy.

Perry, Robert H. (Newcastle General Hospital); McKeith, Ian G. (Univ of Newcastle upon Tyne); Perry, Elaine K. (Newcastle General Hospital)The contributors represent the specialties of clinical neurobiology, neurodegenerative diseases, neuropathology, psychiatry, old age psychiatry, neurology, and clinical psychology. Most are from universities, academic medical centers, and reserch institutes in ten countries, including the U.K., the U.S., Japan, and Germany. Institutions prominently represented include J. W. Goethe Univ, Newcastle General Hospital, Albert Einstein Coll of Medicine, Univ of British Columbia, and UCLA.

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