Cholinesterase inhibitors reduce cortical Abeta in dementia with Lewy bodies.

Cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) are effective symptomatic treatments in dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), although effects on pathologic mechanisms are unknown. In the first human autopsy study examining the impact of ChEI treatment on brain pathology, we compared treated patients with DLB with matched untreated patients for cortical beta-amyloid (Abeta) and tau pathologies. Treated patients with DLB had significantly less parenchymal Abeta deposition, which is relevant to disease management and treatment of dementia patients using ChEI.