Causes And Risk Factors For Lewy Body Dementia

Genetics

The National Institute on Aging states having a family member with Lewy body disease may increase a person's risk for developing the disease. However, Lewy body dementia is not classified as a genetic disease. Variants in three specific genes (APOE, SNCA, and GBA) have been tested and found to have an affiliation with an increased risk of developing the disease, but the actual cause of the variance is unknown. Despite the advancement of genetic testing, there currently is no test with the ability to predict the development of Lewy body disease. More genes and variance will need to be researched and linked to understand if genetics truly plays a part in the development of Lewy body dementia.