LAUSR

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson’s disease dementia (PDD) share a couple of clinical similarities that is often a source of diagnostic pitfalls. We evaluated the discriminatory potential of brain-derived CSF markers [tau, p-tau (181P), Aβ 1−42 , NSE and S100B] across the spectrum of Lewy body disorders and assessed whether particular markers are associated with cognitive status in investigated patients. The tau CSF level, amyloid β 1−42 and p-tau/tau ratio were helpful in the distinction between DLB and PDD ( p  = 0.04, p  = 0.002 and p  = 0.02, respectively) as well as from PD patients ( p  < 0.001, p  = 0.001 and p  = 0.002, respectively). Furthermore, the p-tau/tau ratio enabled the differentiation of DLB with mild dementia from PDD patients ( p  = 0.02). The CSF tau and p-tau levels in DLB and CSF tau and p-tau/tau ratio in PDD patients reflected the severity of dementia. Rapid disease course was associated with the decrease of Aβ 1−42 in DLB but not in PDD. Elevation of S100B in DLB ( p  < 0.0001) as well as in PDD patients ( p  = 0.002) in comparison to controls was estimated. Hence, with the appropriate clinical context; the CSF marker profile could be helpful in distinguishing DLB from PDD patients even in early stages of dementia.