Robin Williams was suffering from a form of dementia that his family believes was a "key factor" leading to his suicide earlier this year, according to a report.
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Court documents obtained by entertainment website TMZ show the comedian, who died on August 11 at the age of 63, was suffering from a form of dementia called Lewy body dementia when he died.
Lewy body dementia causes abnormal deposits of protein in the brain and results in progressive cognitive decline, visual hallucinations, and often depression, the National Institutes of Health in the US says.
It often accompanies Parkinson's disease, the neurological condition from which the actor had been suffering for about three years before his death.
The Lewy Body Dementia Association website in the US says: "Some people with LBD are extremely sensitive or may react negatively to certain medications used to treat Alzheimer's or Parkinson's in addition to certain over-the-counter medications."
TMZ reported that Williams' wife, Susan Schneider, had told authorities shortly after her husband's death that he had been complaining about his medication and the way it made him feel.
The website said sources connected to the Williams family believed that Lewy body dementia was the "key factor" that drove him to kill himself.
Williams' doctors agreed that the disease was a critical factor leading to his suicide, TMZ claimed.
Fairfax Media
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