Dementia With Lewy Bodies Glossary of Terms

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Abnormal: Outside the expected norm, or uncharacteristic of a particular patient.

Acetylcholine: A neurotransmitter released by nerves that is essential for communication b...

Acetylcholinesterase: An enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine at the...

Aging: The process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environ...

Alpha-synuclein: One in a family of structurally related proteins that are prominently exp...

Alzheimer's disease: A progressive degenerative disease of the brain that leads to dementi...

Antidepressant: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antidepressants: Anything, and especially a drug, used to prevent or treat depression.

Antioxidant: A substance that reduces damage due to oxygen, such as that caused by free ra...

Antipsychotic: A medication (or another measure) that is believed to be effective in the t...

Atrophy: A wasting away or diminution. Muscle atrophy is a decrease in muscle mass, often ...

Atypical: Unusual, or not fitting a single diagnostic
category.

Autopsy: A postmortem examination. Also known as necropsy.

Baseline: Information or data gathered at the beginning of a period from which variations ...

Brain: The portion of the central nervous system that is located within the skull. It func...

Cell: The basic structural and functional unit of any living thing. Each cell is a small c...

Cognition: The process of knowing. Cognition includes both awareness and judgment.

Cognitive: Having to do with thought, judgment, or knowledge.

Complication: In medicine, an unanticipated problem that arises following, and is a result...

Constipation: Infrequent and frequently incomplete bowel movements. Constipation is the op...

CT scan: Computerized tomography scan. Pictures of structures within the body created by a...

Cure: 1. To heal, to make well, to restore to good health. 2. A time withou...

Dementia: Significant loss of intellectual abilities, such as memory capacity, that is sev...

Depression: An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way...

Diagnosis: 1 The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness. 2 A ...

Dopamine: An important neurotransmitter (messenger) in the brain.

EEG: Electroencephalogram.

Gait: A manner of walking. Observation of gait can provide early diagnostic clues for a nu...

Indicate: In medicine, to make a treatment or procedure advisable because of a particular ...

Infection: The invasion and multiplication of microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, an...

Lab test: A test that is done in the laboratory where the appropriate equipment, supplies,...

Lumbar: Referring to the five lumbar vertebrae, the disks below them, and the correspondin...

Lumbar puncture: A procedure in which cerebrospinal fluid is removed from the spinal canal...

Lungs: The lungs are a pair of breathing organs located with the chest which remove carbon...

Malnutrition: A term used to refer to any condition in which the body does not receive eno...

MAOI: Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor.

Marker: A piece of DNA that lies on a chromosome so close to a gene that the marker and t...

Medical history: 1. In clinical medicine, the patient's past and present which may ...

Memory: 1. The ability to recover information about past events or knowledge. ...

Metabolic: Relating to metabolism, the whole range of biochemical processes that occur wit...

Motor: Something that produces or refers to motion. For example, a motor neuron is a nerve...

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging.

Muscle: Muscle is the tissue of the body which primarily functions as a source of power. T...

Nerve: A bundle of fibers that uses electrical and chemical signals to transmit sensory an...

Neuroleptic: A term that refers to the effects of antipsychotic drugs on a patient, especi...

Neurological: Having to do with the nerves or the nervous system as, for example, a neurol...

Neurology: The medical specialty concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of disorders o...

Neurotransmitter: A chemical that is released from a nerve cell which thereby transmits an...

NINDS: Stands for the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one of the ...

Nursing: 1) Profession concerned with the provision of services essential to the maintena...

Nursing home: A residential facility for people with chronic illness or disability, partic...

Nutrition: 1) The science or practice of taking in and utilizing foods. 2) A nourishing ...

Parkinson disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease characterized by a fixed inexpr...

Parkinson's disease: A slowly progressive neurologic disease that is characterized by a fi...

Parkinsonism: 1. Parkinson disease.
2. A syndrome similar to Parkinso...

Pathology: The study of disease. Pathology has been defined as "that branch of medicine...

Pharmacy: A location where prescription medications are sold. A pharmacy is constantly sup...

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs, with dense areas of lung inflammation. Pneum...

Precursor: Forerunner. That which precedes or is derived from an available source.

Progressive: Increasing in scope or severity, advancing, or going forward. For example, a ...

Protein: One of the three nutrients used as energy sources (calories) by the body. Protein...

Proteins: Large molecules composed of one or more chains of amino acids in a specific orde...

Quality of life: The patient's ability to enjoy normal life activities. Quality of life is...

Recent memory: Short-term memory. Also called working memory.

Referral: The recommendation of a medical or paramedical professional. If you get a refer...

Reuptake: The reabsorption of a secreted substance by the cell that originally produced an...

Rule out: Term used in medicine, meaning to eliminate or exclude something from considera...

Scan: As a noun, the data or image obtained from the examination of organs or regions of...

Senile: 1. Pertaining to old age. 2. Pertaining to the physical decline ass...

Sensitivity: 1. In psychology, the quality of being sensitive. As, for example, sen...

Serotonin: A neurotransmitter that is involved in the transmission of nerve impulses. Sero...

Spinal tap: Also known as a lumbar puncture or "LP", a spinal tap is a procedure whereby ...

Stomach: The digestive organ that is located in the upper abdomen, under the ribs. The upp...

Stress: In a medical or biological context stress is a physical, mental, or emotional fact...

Stroke: The sudden death of brain cells due to lack of oxygen, caused by blockage of blood...

Therapy: The treatment of disease. Therapy is synonymous with treatment.

Thyroid: 1. The thyroid gland. Also, pertaining to the thyroid gland. 2. A p...

Tremor: An abnormal, repetitive shaking movement of the body. Tremors have many causes and...

Tricyclic antidepressants: One of a class of medications used to treat depression. The tri...

Vascular: Relating to blood vessels. For example, the vascular system in the body includes...

Vascular dementia: A common form of dementia in older persons that is due to cerebrovascul...

Vitamin E: Alpha-tocopherol, an antioxidant vitamin which binds oxygen free radicals that ...