The Ann Arbor District Library will host an informational program about http://www.lbda.org">Lewy Body Dementia from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 16 in the Multi-Purpose Room of the Downtown Library, 343 S. Fifth Ave., in Ann Arbor.

The talk will feature local medical professionals and people helping loved ones cope with the disease.

Washtenaw County resident Tamara Real watched helplessly for two years as her husband, Carl Rinne, withdrew from life before he was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in in 2010.

Real's experience is not an unusual one among Lewy Body Dementia caregivers, though she was not aware of how prevalent the problem was at first.

Then Real found the Lewy Body Dementia Association and learned that most Lewy Body Dementia families are faced with educating not just their friends and families about Lewy Body Dementia, but sometimes physicians and nurses as well.

When LBDA launched its nationwide October awareness movement, "A Month to Remember," in order to raise Lewy Body Dementia awareness, Real volunteered.

Lewy body dementia is a progressive brain disease that is misdiagnosed more often than not.

In a study by the Lewy Body Dementia Association, family caregivers reported that Lewy Body Dementia was not the first diagnosis in 78 percent of cases.

Despite an estimated patient population of 1.3 million people in the U.S., Lewy Body Dementia is most often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or a psychiatric disorder.

"Given the growing population of older Americans, at some point in your life Lewy Body Dementia will likely affect someone you know," said Angela Herron, president of LBDA's board of directors, in a news release. Continued...

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ANN ARBOR: District library to host Lewy Body Dementia talk Oct. 16