Autopsy findings identified that comedian Robin Williams was battling Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB), or Lewy Body Dementia, and his widow recently began offering interviews to share information about this disease.

Along with FTD, DLB is one of the diseases being addressed by the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), the national strategic framework for advancing research on treatment, prevention and cures for Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. In conjunction with Lewy Body Dementia Association Director of Programs Angela Taylor, AFTD Program Manager Matthew Sharp, M.S.S. has been advocating that NAPA’s Advisory Council should provide greater focus on both FTD and DLB, and greater clarity regarding research funding opportunities targeting the related dementias.

Media attention on DLB is timely, as the annual International Dementia with Lewy Bodies Conference will convene in the United States for the first time in early December. One of the objectives of the conference is to identify the differences and commonalities between DLB and other forms of dementia. For more information about the conference (Dec. 1-4), click here.