Caring for a loved one with dementia poses unique challenges based on the specific diagnosis. Dr. Jill Shapira, a researcher and practitioner in the field of dementia caregiving, will moderate a diverse panel of dementia caregivers, including the wife of a husband with Lewy body dementia, the wife of a husband with frontotemporal dementia, the mother of a daughter with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s disease, and the daughter of a parent with Alzheimer’s disease. Do not miss this invaluable discussion with the real experts, the caregivers who live the reality of managing dementia everyday, at our upcoming research conference. Friday,…

(Dan Steinberg/Invision/AP Images) The brain autopsy of Robin Williams showed signs of diffuse Lewy body disease, a dementia that affects 1.4 million Americans and their families, according to the Lewy Body Dementia Association. Lewy body dementia (LBD) can closely resemble and overlap with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s making it widely underdiagnosed.  Some patients start out with a movement disorder leading to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s, then develop dementia and other symptoms of LBD.  Others present with cognitive dysfunction that may look like Alzheimer’s initially, but with time, hallucinations, motor impairments and fluctuating attention appear.  A third smaller group present first with…