"DLB is a common cause of dementia that is not only clinically and pathologically distinct from AD but also differs significantly in functional and survival outcomes," Dr. James E. Galvin from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri told Reuters Health.

Dr. Galvin and colleagues investigated whether DLB progresses more rapidly than AD to relevant clinical endpoints such as nursing home placement and death.

The median age at death was 78.0 years among DLB patients and 85.6 years among AD patients, the authors report. With both conditions, men had shorter median survival times than women did.

The risk of mortality was 88% higher among DLB patients than among AD patients, the results indicate, and men had a 51% higher risk of mortality than women.

The median survival after diagnosis was 7.28 years with DLB and 8.47 years with AD, the researchers note.

DLB was associated with a marginally shorter median time to nursing home placement and survival time in the nursing home, the report indicates.

The rates of cognitive decline did not differ between DLB and AD.

"The greater risk for non-cognitive (function, behavior, mood) disease progression for DLB compared with AD suggests clinically meaningful differences for the two disorders that still need further investigation and research," Dr. Galvin said.

"Identification early in the course of disease will enable the clinician to tailor therapies for the DLB patient, facilitate caregiver participation, prepare the family to the anticipated more rapid decline of the patient, and provide information and referral to resources such as the Lewy Body Dementia Association (www.LBDA.org)," Dr. Galvin said.

Neurology 2006;67:1935-1941.