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Objective To investigate the clinical features of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) in a Chinese population. Methods Computer-based online searches through China Biology Medicine disc and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were performed to collect case reports of DLB published between 1980 and 2012. Clinical characteristics were analyzed. Results A total of 18 studies comprising 35 patients (26 males and 9 females) were included. The mean age at onset was 67.2 ± 9.8 years. Onset was characterized by memory impairment and accounted for 58.8% of all cases, followed by parkinsonism (11.8%), visual hallucinations (8.8%), and compulsive personality disorder (2.9%). The other patients (17.6%) presented two of the three core features of DLB at onset. With disease progression, parkinsonism was reported in 100% of cases, followed by visual hallucinations (97.1%), psychiatric symptoms (85.7%), severe neuroleptic sensitivity (81.8%), fluctuating cognition (68.6%), repeated falls (40.0%), sleep disorders (22.9%), and transient loss of consciousness (17.1%). 26 patients who were subjected to Mini-Mental State Examination scored ≤ 24. 10 patients presented relative preservation of hippocampus and medial temporal lobe structures on CT/MRI scan. Occipital hypometabolism occurred in 2 of 3 patients who underwent SPECT/PET perfusion scan. 12 patients showed an increasing of slow frequency activity on EEG, prominently in frontal and temporal lobes. Conclusions DLB often strikes elderly individuals. Its clinical core features are dementia, fluctuating cognition, recurrent visual hallucinations and spontaneous features of parkinsonism. Neuropsychological, neuroimaging and EEG examinations may improve the diagnostic accuracy and discriminate DLB from other dementias.

Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic, progressive and debilitating disease, which affects over 2.5 million people in China. PD is characterized clinically by resting tremor, muscular rigidity, bradykinesia and postural instability. As the disease progresses, additional complications can arise such as non-motor and neurobehavioral symptoms. Pharmacological treatment and surgical intervention for PD have been implemented in China. Until 10 years ago, there was lack of standardization for the management of PD in different regions and among different physicians, leading to different treatment levels in different regions and different physicians. Since then, the Chinese Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorder Society have published three versions of guidelines for the management of PD in China, in 2006, 2009 and 2014, respectively. Correspondingly, the overall level of treatment for PD in China improved. Objectives To update the treatment guidelines based on current foreign and domestic practice guidelines and clinical evidence, and to improve the treatment options available to physicians in the management of PD. Summary A variety of treatment recommendations in the treatment guidelines have been proposed, including physical activity and disease-modifying medication, which should be initiated at the early-stage of the disease. The principles of dosage titration should be followed to avoid acute adverse reactions to the drugs, to achieve a satisfactory clinical effect with a low dose and to reduce the incidence of long-term motor complications. Moreover, different treatment strategies should be considered at different stages of the disease. Importantly, treatment guidelines and personalized treatments should be valued equally. A set of treatment recommendations has been developed to assist physicians to improve and optimize clinical outcomes for patients with PD in China.