Affiliations: Escola Paulista de Medicina, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Correspondence:
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Correspondence to: Fabricio Ferreira de Oliveira, MD, MSc, PhD, FAAN, Universidade Federal de São Paulo
(UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina, Rua Botucatu 740, Vila Clementino, CEP 04023-900, São Paulo, SP,
Brazil. Tel.: (+55) (+11) 964 696 021; E-mail: fabricioferreiradeoliveira@hotmail.com.
Abstract: Knowledge of performance in activities of daily living and quality of life is important for management decisions and research endpoints. The use of harmonized scales is essential for objective assessment of both caregivers and patients with dementia with Lewy bodies. Functionality and quality of life are more impaired in dementia with Lewy bodies than in Alzheimer’s disease, mostly due to higher prevalence of behavioral symptoms and motor manifestations in dementia with Lewy bodies. More longitudinal studies are required to assess if causality mediates the associations of clinical features with functional independence and worsened quality of life in these patients.
Keywords: Activities of daily living, Alzheimer’s disease, behavioral symptoms, cognitive disorders, dementia, Lewy body dementia, neurodegenerative diseases, neuropsychiatry, quality of life
