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'Can’t seem to keep my mind to it': did Arthur Miller’s Salesman have dementia with Lewy bodies?

Authors :
Seán O'Dowd
John-Paul Taylor
Conor Fearon
Source :
Journal of Neurology. 266:1806-1808
Publication Year :
2019
Publisher :
Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2019.

Abstract

We present evidence that Willy Loman, the protagonist of Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman", meets current diagnostic criteria for probable dementia with Lewy bodies. In particular, he presents with attentional deficits and executive dysfunction (with additional subtle visuoperceptual deficits) in addition to dramatic fluctuations in attention and vivid visual hallucinations. Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia. However, it is frequently misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed, even-we contest-in one of the most well-known characters in modern literature.

Details

ISSN :
14321459 and 03405354
Volume :
266
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Neurology
Accession number :
edsair.doi.dedup.....74f365cc52ee8cd2e6afec8d46da7b18
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-019-09343-8