The use of EEG in the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies

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The use of EEG in the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies

2008

Although reports on EEG in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) are

conflicting, the recent diagnostic guidelines define EEG

abnormalities as being supportive for the diagnosis. We examined EEG

abnormalities in 18 patients with DLB, 34 patients with Alzheimer's

disease (AD) and 36 patients with subjective memory complaints (SMC)

using the Grand Total EEG (GTE) score. There was a difference in

median GTE score of DLB (11.0), AD (4.8) and SMC (2.5) (p<0.001).

Patients with DLB had higher scores than patients with AD. ROC

analyses revealed that patients with DLB could be distinguished from

those with AD with a sensitivity of 72% and a specificity of 85% at a

GTE cut-off of 9.5. The association between GTE and DLB was

independent of age, gender, Mini Mental State Examination and

medication use. Frontal intermittent rhythmic delta activity (FIRDA)

was found in 2.9% of the patients with AD and in 33.3% of the

patients with DLB. The GTE is a simple EEG scoring method that can be

helpful in the differential diagnosis between DLB and AD with good

sensitivity and specificity.

Source: http://jnnp.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/79/4/377