Dementia: Physical symptoms of brain decline can be confused with Parkinson's disease

msn.com:

READ MORE: The 'first sign' that affects 'most people' with pancreatic cancerRobin Williams was one of the great comedic talents of the 20th Century and his death in 2014 was a great tragedy.

At the time of his death he had been diagnosed and was being treated for early-stage Parkinson's disease. However, when an autopsy was carried out, it was discovered that he had actually been suffering from Lewy body dementia and had been misdiagnosed.

Such was the extent of the damage to William's brain that a paper was written on his condition. The author of the paper, Mr William's wife Susan Schneider wrote: "All four of the doctors I met with afterwards and who had reviewed his records indicated his was one of the worst pathologies they had seen. "He had about 40 percent loss of dopamine neurons and almost no neurons were free of Lewy bodies throughout the entire brain and brainstem. "It is for this reason that it is essential to get an accurate and correct diagnosis so that what treatments there are can be administered for either Parkinson's or Lewy body dementia, says the NHS.

Furthermore, the most common symptoms of Lewy body dementia are problems with:• Thinking speed• Understanding• Judgement• Visual perception• Language• Memory.