Alzheimer's Is Not The Only Dementia, Says Soap Star, Dot - UK

In the midst of recent news stories which have been raising public awareness about dementia, the Lewy Body Society, Europe's only charity dedicated to the second most common form of age-related dementia, known as Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), celebrates its first year with a dinner at the Reform Club, London on Friday 15 June. Guest of Honour is octagenerarian actress Miss June Brown, also known as Dot on the popular BBC 1 television soap, EastEnders.



"Alzheimer's is not the only dementia," said Miss Brown, whose late husband, the actor Bob Arnold, died of DLB in 2003. "It is important for people, especially doctors, to know about Lewy Body Disease so that fewer people are misdiagnosed and so they can receive the proper treatment."



The charity, which has raised more than ??70,000 in its first year is information driven, with aims of raising awareness of and supporting research into Dementia with Lewy bodies. Between 120- 130,000 people in the UK are thought to suffer from this terrible neurodegenerative disease.



Lewy bodies, first identified by Dr Friedrich Lewy in 1912, are microscopic protein deposits found in the brain. Their presence disrupts the brain's normal functioning, causing progressive mental and motor dysfunction.



Because DLB shares common characteristics with both Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases, it is often misdiagnosed. Accurate and early diagnosis is crucial because administering the wrong drugs can have extremely adverse and even fatal consequences.



The Lewy Body Society's President and Chairman of its Medical and Scientific Advisory Panel is Professor Ian McKeith of Newcastle University, who is acknowledged as the world's leading expert in DLB , having published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers on the subject.



"Virtually unrecognised 20 years ago, DLB could within this decade be one of the most treatable neurodegenerative disorders of late life," said Prof McKeith. "The first goal must be to raise awareness."



The Lewy Body Society

Holland House

10 Chestnut Drive

Hatfield Heath

CM22 7EZ

UK

lewybody

Registered charity No. 1114579