Frontotemporal dementia refers to several different types of dementia that result when there’s damage to the frontal and/or temporal lobes of the brain. This includes frontal variant, primary progressive aphasia, and many other forms of dementia. While frontotemporal dementia isn’t as common as other forms of the condition, it’s the most common type of dementia in people between the ages of 40 and 65.
Because the frontal and temporal lobes affect speech, personality, and behaviour, symptoms can include anything from personality and behaviour changes to speech problems. This could mean inappropriate behaviour, a lack of empathy, or a complete personality change. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for frontotemporal dementia, and treatments are very limited. The best that most people can hope for is medication and therapy to maintain a decent quality of life for as long as possible.
Because frontotemporal dementia affects the parts of your brain that determine your personality, how you behave, and your speech, changes in these areas are the most common symptoms. As with most forms of dementia, symptoms will start very slowly and subtly and get gradually worse as the condition progresses. While symptoms will vary from person to person, here are some of the most common ones to watch out for.
Essentially, any types of unexplained personality, speech, or behaviour changes are potentially signs of frontotemporal dementia. As the condition progresses, there will also be symptoms that affect your movements and fine motor skills.
Frontotemporal dementia is also known as frontotemporal degeneration because it occurs when the temporal and/or frontal lobes of the brain experience degeneration. In most cases, this happens because of nerve damage or loss in these parts of the brain, causing these lobes to shrink. However, why or how this happens is mostly unknown to medical experts, which means there’s no way to cure or prevent it from happening.
In terms of who is most at risk for developing frontotemporal dementia, it’s a very evenly distributed disease. There’s no or very little disparity when it comes to gender, race, or environment. The only known risk factor is that you’re more likely to develop frontotemporal dementia if you have a family history of dementia.
Your doctor will use a variety of tests and measures when diagnosing frontotemporal dementia.
Your symptoms will play a big role in diagnosing all forms of dementia. If your symptoms are similar to those above and your loved ones are concerned about personality, speech, and behaviour changes, further testing is necessary.
Brain scans, such as MRIs, PET, and FDG scans, can rule out other brain injuries and conditions that could explain your symptoms. These scans can also show shrinkage of the frontal and temporal lobes.
Along with scans, blood tests are useful for ruling out other potential conditions.
Neurologic tests to check your memory, personality, speech, and behaviour are helpful in confirming a diagnosis.
In most cases, diagnosing frontotemporal dementia is done using a process of elimination. If nothing else can explain your symptoms and you score poorly on your neurologic testing, it’s likely that you have frontotemporal or another type of dementia.
As with all types of dementia, there’s no cure or treatment for frontotemporal dementia. Medications and therapy can help slow the condition and ease symptoms, but it will eventually prove terminal. Most people with frontotemporal dementia eventually pass away when the condition starts to cause changes in their internal organs, skin, and ability to swallow.