Patrick Stewart Death: Actor Dies at 86 in Los Angeles
The Star Trek and X-Men actor passed away Wednesday after battles with Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, his spokesperson said.
By William Turner ·
Patrick Stewart, the actor known for his roles in Star Trek and X-Men, died Wednesday in Los Angeles. He was 86 years old. His spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, described his final period as a "brief and poignant journey" with two forms of dementia. The diagnoses had not been made public before his death.
Stewart had both Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia. According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, Lewy body dementia is a progressive condition that impairs a person's ability to think, reason, and process information. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states the disease is caused by abnormal clumps of protein called Lewy bodies. These clumps build up in nerve cells, inhibiting their function and eventually killing them.
The Mayo Clinic lists hallucinations as a primary early symptom of Lewy body dementia. Patients often see people or objects that are not present. Like Alzheimer's, the disease causes confusion, attention deficits, and memory loss. It also affects physical stability. Patients may act out dreams during sleep, lose bladder control, and suffer falls due to sudden drops in blood pressure.
HHS notes that Lewy body dementia and Parkinson's disease dementia share the same underlying brain changes. The difference lies in the timing of symptoms. In Lewy body dementia, thinking problems and visual hallucinations appear before movement issues. In Parkinson's disease dementia, movement symptoms such as stiffness and slow walking occur before cognitive changes.
Approximately 1.4 million Americans live with Lewy body dementia, according to Johns Hopkins. The Mayo Clinic ranks it as the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's. Risk factors include being male, being over age 60, and having a family history of the condition. Most diagnoses happen after age 50.
There is no cure for the disease, but symptoms can be managed. The Mayo Clinic reports that cholinesterase inhibitors can improve alertness, thinking, and memory while reducing hallucinations. Medications used for Parkinson's disease can also target muscle rigidity and other motor disorders associated with Lewy body dementia. On average, patients live eight years after diagnosis, though individual outcomes vary based on overall health and symptom severity.
