Diffuse Lewy body disease: an autopsy case.

A 67-year-old male patient initially showed memory disturbance followed by tremors a year later. The symptoms rapidly aggravated to dementia and Parkinsonian symptoms, and the patient died 2 years and 6 months after the onset at the age of 69 years and 5 months. Autopsy revealed numerous senile plaques in the cerebral cortex and Alzheimer's neurofibrillary tangles in the inferior temporal lobe and hippocampus. A number of Lewy bodies were found in the cerebral cortex and brain stem. Lewy bodies were found abundantly in the third layer of the pyramidal cells in the gyrus parahippocamalis. The distribution of Lewy bodies in the cerebral cortex was similar to that of inflated cells in Pick's disease.