EEG biomarkers for the early diagnosis of DLB

AbstractBackgroundThe early detection and classification of Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) are important clinical support tasks for medical practitioners in customizing patient treatment programs to better manage the development and progression of these diseases. Efforts are being made to diagnose DLB in the early stages. Efforts are being made to diagnose DLB in the early stages. The use of electroencephalogram as a tool for the detection of changes in brain activities and clinical diagnosis is becoming increasingly popular for its capabilities in quantifying changes in brain degeneration in DLB. This talk reports results of a multicenter European study on the role of electroencephalogram as a biomarker based on signal processing to detect DLB in early stages and classify its severity.MethodEEG was recorded in 144 DLB, 116 AD and 65 controls from 7 Centers of the European DLB Consortium. Spectra, divided into delta, theta, pre‐alpha, alpha frequency bands were described by DF, DF variability (DFV), frequency prevalence (FP).ResultQuantitative EEG was characterized by specific abnormalities in posterior derivations. These include a pre‐alpha‐dominant frequency, either stable or intermixed with alpha/theta/delta activities in pseudoperiodic patterns, which together have a predictive value >90% for the diagnosis of DLB compared with AD. These specific EEG patterns also correlate positively with the severity of clinically observed cognitive fluctuations and are seen at the MCI stage.ConclusionIn DLB EEG abnormalities can be considered a biomarker for DLB even at the very early stages of the disease.