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DLB and PDD boundary issues: diagnosis, treatment, molecular pathology, and biomarkers
Lippa CF, Duda JE, Grossman M, Hurtig HI, Aarsland D, Boeve BF, Brooks DJ, Dickson DW et al.. Neurology, 2007-03-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
For more than a decade, researchers have refined criteria for the diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and at the same time have recognized that cognitive impairment and dementia occur commonly in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). This article addresses the relationship between DLB, PD, and PD with dementia (PDD). The authors agreed to endorse "Lewy body disorders" as the umbrella term for PD, PDD, and DLB, to promote the continued practical use of these three clinical terms, and to encourage efforts at drug discovery that target the mechanisms of neurodegeneration shared by these disorders of alpha-synuclein metabolism. We concluded that the differing temporal sequence of symptoms and clinical features of PDD and DLB justify distinguishing these disorders. However, a single Lewy body disorder model was deemed more useful for studying disease pathogenesis because abnormal neuronal alpha-synuclein inclusions are the defining pathologic process common to both PDD and DLB. There was consensus that improved understanding of the pathobiology of alpha-synuclein should be a major focus of efforts to develop new disease-modifying therapies for these disorders. The group agreed on four important priorities: 1) continued communication between experts who specialize in PDD or DLB; 2) initiation of prospective validation studies with autopsy confirmation of DLB and PDD; 3) development of practical biomarkers for alpha-synuclein pathologies; 4) accelerated efforts to find more effective treatments for these diseases.
Key findings
- We concluded that the differing temporal sequence of symptoms and clinical features of PDD and DLB justify distinguishing these disorders.
Why it matters
This consensus paper discusses the relationship between dementia with Lewy bodies, Parkinson's disease and Parkinson's disease with dementia, and calls for research into alpha-synuclein. It concerns Lewy body disorders rather than the treatment, cure or prevention of Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 58/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2007 — within 20 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 6 / 7 | Cited 546 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 26.0 citations a year over 21 year(s) since 2007 |
| Impact for its field and year | 5 / 6 | Cited 32.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 4 / 6 | Cited by 33 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 36 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Zbigniew K. Wszołek: h-index 112 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 3 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 19 institution(s) in 7 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 17353469) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 58 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Lippa, C. F., Duda, J. E., Grossman, M., Hurtig, H. I., Aarsland, D., Boeve, B. F., et al. (2007). DLB and PDD boundary issues: diagnosis, treatment, molecular pathology, and biomarkers. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000256715.13907.d3
Vancouver
Lippa CF, Duda JE, Grossman M, Hurtig HI, Aarsland D, Boeve BF, et al. DLB and PDD boundary issues: diagnosis, treatment, molecular pathology, and biomarkers. Neurology. 2007. doi:10.1212/01.wnl.0000256715.13907.d3. PMID: 17353469.
BibTeX
@article{lippa2007-17353469,
author = {Lippa, C. F. and Duda, J. E. and Grossman, M. and Hurtig, H. I. and Aarsland, D. and Boeve, B. F. and Brooks, D. J. and Dickson, D. W. and others},
title = {{DLB and PDD boundary issues: diagnosis, treatment, molecular pathology, and biomarkers}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2007},
doi = {10.1212/01.wnl.0000256715.13907.d3},
pmid = {17353469},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/01.wnl.0000256715.13907.d3}
}
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