Robin Williams Research Paper

Robin Williams and the Lewy Body Struggle On July 21, 1952 a boy named Robin Williams was born who would someday go on to be an Hollywood star. He would go on to entertain the world for decades with his hilarious comedy. To the regular person he seemed perfectly happy and healthy, but he was neither. Robin Williams was dealing with Lewy Body Dementia. Dementia is a lack of or serious decrease in cognitive abilities caused by the death of brain cells (Whitworth 2). Some physical symptoms of LBD include, motor dysfunctions such as choking, repeated falls or fainting, muscle stiffness, tremor, and stooped posture (10). LBD also has mental symptoms such as depression, hallucinations, and anxiety ( 10, 11, 43). Causes of LBD include, microscopic Lewy bodies in the cognitive and motor areas of the brain (8). LBD is incurable at the moment, and the only way to prove someone has LBD is with a brain autopsy (9). LBD is rare and can be found in both men in women, but is more common in men (8). One drug that can help is Donepezil, but as more cells in the brain die the drug becomes less effective (58). Sleeping disorders are

Motor dysfunctions can include tremors in the hand (CNN). This can make it hard to do simple things like write, cook, type, or use a knife. Robin with this experienced other motor dysfunctions like muscle weakness and stooped posture (CNN). For example, muscle weakness would make it harder for Robin to lift heavy objects .In addition to this stooped posture might make Robin appear upset or tired when really he could be perfectly awake and happy, and can affect how he interacts with people. In fact, Robin also experienced mental symptoms of LBD (CNN). These symptoms could include depression (CNN). Depression might also give Robin suicidal thoughts. Robin also experienced anxiety, and some of his anxiety included paranoia about his health