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.