WILLIAM BRANGHAM:
After Robin Williams took his own life, his press representative said Williams was battling severe depression. His widow, Susan Schneider Williams, also said back then that he was struggling with depression and early stages of Parkinson's disease
But this week, Mrs. Williams told ABC News and "People" magazine that an autopsy revealed something else. He had what is known as Lewy body dementia. She described battling a mysterious set of symptoms for a year, something she compared to playing Whac-A-Mole — quote — "They present themselves like a pinball machine," she said. "You don't know exactly what you're looking at. I have spent this last year trying to find out what killed Robin, because we didn't know. He didn't know."
Joining me now to help us understand more about this disease is neurologist Dr. James Galvin. He's a professor and associate dean for clinical research at Florida Atlantic University.
Dr. Galvin, thank you for joining us.
It seems that before this news about Robin Williams broke, most of us had never heard of this disease. Can you tell me a little bit more about it?
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