Table 3: Preliminary neuropathological criteria for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson disease with dementia (PDD) [2].

Type of lesion DLB PDD
LB/αSyn pathology Both show a combination of progressed LB (LB Braak stage 5-6) and AD
pathology of variable severity and extent (Braak neuritic stage 5-6)
Aβ load More severe and extended in cortex and striatum Less severe and less extended
Tau load Higher tau load (in medial temporal cortex!) Low tau load in cortex and striatum
Cortical LB load Higher in temporal & parietal cortex, hippocampus Diffuse or focal
αSyn load (hippocampus) CA2 more severely involved CA 2/3 more frequently involved
SN neuronal cell loss Preferentially in dorsolateral SNc More severe, preferentially in medioventral SNc
Pedunculopontine cholinergic cell loss Negative In hallucinating PDD positive
5-HT1A receptor binding density in cortex Higher Lower

LB: Lewy Body; AD: Alzheimer Disease; SNc: Substantia Nigra Pars Compacta.