In the spring of 2014, actor-comedian Robin Williams died by suicide at 63. He had struggled for months with paranoia and confusion, extreme anxiety, tremors and difficulty reasoning. In an autopsy, doctors found the signs of Lewy body dementia. His wife, Susan Schneider Williams, later wrote an editorial in the journal Neurology. She called Lewy body “the terrorist inside my husband’s brain.”
This disease is identified by protein deposits, called Lewy bodies, in the brain. It is second to Alzheimer’s disease in frequency among types of dementia, and will be the subject of a presentation tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 15) at UT Health San Antonio.
The event, “Changing Behaviors in Persons with Frontotemporal Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia,” is an installment of the “Dialogue on Dementia” series provided by the university’s Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Biggs Institute neuropsychologists A. Campbell Sullivan, Psy.D., ABPP-CN , and Mitzi M. Gonzales, Ph.D., will discuss how family and friends can recognize and anticipate behavioral alterations in their loved ones and offer help.
The event is open and free to the public. Day-of registration is appreciated. Parking is free.
WHAT: “Dialogue on Dementia: Changing Behaviors in Persons with Frontotemporal Dementia and Lewy Body Dementia”
WHEN: 5 p.m. (ends at 6:30 p.m.) Thursday, Nov. 15
WHERE: Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute, 8403 Floyd Curl Drive, San Antonio, Texas 78229