Table of Contents:
- What is frontotemporal dementia?
- Prognosis of frontotemporal dementia
- What are the symptoms?
- Medical tests to diagnose frontotemporal dementia
- Causes of frontotemporal dementia
- Can it be prevented?
- Treatment for frontotemporal dementia
What is frontotemporal dementia?
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) consists of a set of brain disorders that impact the frontal and temporal lobe of the brain. This region of the brain is related to personality, language and behavior.
It is considered a rare disease and is similar to Alzheimer’s disease, although it differs from Alzheimer’s because it usually appears at an earlier age. That is, frontotemporal dementia usually begins to manifest itself between the ages of 40 and 65.
Prognosis of frontotemporal dementia
This disorder and its associated symptoms are progressively worsening and permanent. FTD usually results in the death of the patient within 8 to 10 years from the onset of disease manifestation. The reasons are usually infection or failure of the body’s systems.
Symptoms of frontotemporal dementia
Symptoms vary from patient to patient, but are usually associated with behavior, speech and personality. Generally, the signs of frontotemporal dementia usually get progressively worse over the years.
- Behavioral changes
There are more or less extreme alterations in the behavior and personality of patients. That is, they are characterized by inappropriate social behavior, lack of empathy, lack of judgment and inhibition and apathy.
In addition, in some cases there is repetitive compulsive behavior and decreased personal hygiene.
- Speech and language problems
Impairment or loss of speech occurs in some types of frontotemporal dementia. That is, semantic dementia, primary progressive aphasia and progressive agrammatic aphasia are considered consequences of frontotemporal dementia.
Other language-related symptoms include increasing difficulty in understanding written language, difficulty in naming objects or recognizing the meaning of words, and having errors in constructing a sentence.
- Movement disorders
In some types of frontotemporal dementia, movement disorders, similar to those of Parkinson’s disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, occur.
In this particular pathology, tremors, poor coordination, muscle weakness, spasms and falls when walking usually appear.
Medical tests to diagnose frontotemporal dementia
If there is suspicion of the presence of this pathology, the specialist must first evaluate the patient’s clinical history and the symptoms he/she manifests.
From there, there are some tests to detect this pathology:
- Neuropsychological evaluation and neurological examination.
- Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain
- Electroencephalography
- Spinal tap
- Computed tomography of the head
- Brain biopsy
In some cases, there are errors in diagnosing frontotemporal dementia, since it can be confused, due to its symptoms, with a psychiatric problem or with Alzheimer’s disease.
Causes of frontotemporal dementia
The causes of this pathology are not entirely known. In general, the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain shrink and abnormal substances are generated inside the nerve cells or neurons called neurofibrillary tangles, Pick’s cells and tau protein. When these abnormal substances accumulate, neuronal damage occurs.
There are some genetic mutations that have been linked over the years to frontotemporal dementia, although not all cases of this disease respond to a family history.
Can frontotemporal dementia be prevented?
Frontotemporal dementia cannot be prevented, since the only known risk factor is family history, although it does not affect all cases of frontotemporal dementia.
Treatment of frontotemporal dementia
There is currently no specific treatment or cure for frontotemporal dementia.
First, certain medications such as analgesics, anticholinergics, central nervous system depressants, lidocaine and cimetidine may be administered.
In addition, some drugs may be required to maintain control of aggressive or dangerous behaviors. Firstly, the administration of antidepressants may be indicated to control behavior, and secondly, antipsychotics.
Finally, considering that the symptoms are behavioral and language related, psychological therapy may be helpful in some cases.