Report: Robin Williams had Lewy body dementia

[KamaAina]

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-robin-williams-suicide-triggered-by-lewy-body-dementia/

Robin Williams was reportedly suffering from Lewy body dementia around the time of his death.

According to TMZ, sources connected to the actor's family say the condition was a "key factor" in Williams' suicide. The website says it obtained documents confirming that Williams had the disease, described by the Mayo Clinic as the second most common type of progressive dementia (after Alzheimer's disease). It can cause a "progressive decline in mental abilities, as well as visual hallucinations, which generally take the form of objects, people or animals that aren't there."

According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association, the disease affects an estimated 1.3 million people in the United States. ...

Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, confirmed that the comedian was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease and also suffered from depression and anxiety.

[joeybee12]

1. Very sad...

That can take its toll on both the sufferer and the family.

[randys1]

2. He did NOT deserve any of that shit

[Initech]

3. Holy crap, that's what my grandma had.

I can definitely understand him not wanting to suffer from that.

[minivan2]

5. My mom's a caregiver for a man who has Lewy Body

It's a tough disease to go through, for the person, and everybody who knows him.

[glinda]

6. He was genius and I cannot imagine how horribly depressing all of this was to him.