Treatment and Care
Personalized care can ease symptoms, support independence, and improve quality of life.
Finding the Right Treatment for You
Parkinson’s and dementia with Lewy bodies affect every person differently. Treatment should therefore focus on the symptoms that most interfere with daily life while considering personal priorities, other medical conditions, possible side effects, and quality of life. Current therapies can relieve many symptoms and help people remain active and independent. But no approved treatment can yet slow down or stop the underlying progression of Parkinson’s or dementia with Lewy bodies.
See a Movement Disorder Specialist
A movement disorder specialist is a neurologist with additional expertise in Parkinson’s and related conditions. Seeing a specialist can help create a more individualized treatment plan that matches your needs. For people with dementia with Lewy bodies, seeing a neurologist specializing in memory and cognitive disorders is especially valuable. An accurate diagnosis is particularly important because some medications can affect people with dementia with Lewy bodies differently and may worsen their symptoms.
Medication Matched to Your Symptoms
There is no single medication plan that works for everyone. In Parkinson’s, dopamine-based treatments can improve symptoms such as slowness, stiffness, and tremor. In dementia with Lewy bodies, other medications may support attention and thinking or help reduce distressing hallucinations. Additional treatments can address sleep, mood, constipation, blood pressure changes, pain, and other non-motor symptoms.
Medication Safety Matters
Medication choices often require careful adjustments. This is especially true for dementia with Lewy bodies, where certain antipsychotic drugs may cause severe reactions and should be used only under experienced medical supervision.
Care Beyond Medication
Good treatment involves much more than prescriptions. Exercise, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and swallowing therapy, psychological support, and practical adjustments at home can help preserve mobility, communication, confidence, and independence.
Advanced Treatment Options
For selected people with Parkinson’s, advanced treatments such as deep brain stimulation, focused ultrasound, or medication-delivery systems may be considered when standard medication no longer provides consistent symptom control. These approaches are not generally treatments for people with dementia with Lewy bodies.
We Need Therapies That Challenge The Course of Disease
Researchers around the world are intensifying efforts to develop the first therapies capable of changing the course of Parkinson’s and dementia with Lewy bodies. Some target harmful alpha-synuclein itself, aiming to prevent it from misfolding, clumping, or spreading between nerve cells. Others address the cellular damage caused by these aggregates and the persistent neuroinflammation that can further damage vulnerable brain regions.
Moving Research Forward
This is a pivotal moment: scientific discoveries are opening promising new paths, but many ideas still need funding to complete the key experiments that can move them closer to patients. Every donation helps to turn biological insight into therapies that slow down and ultimately stop Parkinson’s and dementia with Lewy bodies.
Using This Information Safely
The information on this website is intended for general education only. American Friends of ParkinsonFonds Deutschland does not recommend individual medications, procedures, or healthcare providers. Diagnosis and treatment must be initiated, adjusted, and supervised by appropriately qualified medical professionals. Never begin, stop, or change a treatment without consulting your physician.