On February 29 at 1pm PT, the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA, lbda.org) will host a webinar on “Introduction to Synuclein Biomarkers: How Researchers are ‘Seeing’ Lewy Bodies in the Living Brain.” Stanford neurologist Kathleen Poston, MD, will discuss recent advances in the development of biomarkers for alpha-synuclein, how they are changing research in Lewy body dementia (LBD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), and how they may change clinical practice in the future.
Currently, the diagnosis of Lewy body dementia (and most neurological disorders) is made based on signs and symptoms reported and observed during medical appointments. This is called a “clinical diagnosis.” One of the primary challenges to clinical diagnosis has been that there was no laboratory test that could tell during life who had the hallmark brain change associated with LBD. In recent years, though, tremendous progress has been made in developing such tests – which researchers call “biomarkers.”
During this webinar, Dr. Poston will spell out some of the basics about diagnosing LBD and biomarkers, including:
- The current diagnostic process for LBD
- What is a biomarker
- The ways in which medical professionals may test a person for the presence of Lewy bodies in the brain
- Why your doctor may or may not prescribe a test
Register here for the webinar.
Can’t make it? Register anyway, and LBDA will notify you when the recording is available on LBDAtv, and share details about upcoming webinars.
Dr. Poston discussed some of these topics at the recent Lewy Body Dementia Caregiving Symposium, hosted by Stanford and Brain Support Network. See our symposium webpage for links to a recording of her talk, her slides, and notes.