Frontotemporal dementia
Frontotemporal (FTD), also known as frontotemporal , and historically as Pick's disease, is a family of disorders, caused by frontotemporal lobar degeneration that affects the frontal and temporal lobes. The FTD family includes behavioral FTD (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and its semantic and nonfluent/agrammatic , primary progressive apraxia of speech (PPAOS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and corticobasal (CBS). Through a mutual risk gene, FTD and amyotrophic (ALS) share a , where symptoms of both disorders can co-occur. Symptoms of FTD will typically match a specific disorder at first, though symptoms of other disorders will inevitably begin to show as the disease progresses to different areas of the brain. FTD disorders are a common young-onset dementia occurring under the age of 60.
Underlined words are explained — tap any of them.
Causes — why it happens
- ·frontotemporal lobar
How it's found
- · of exclusion based on progressive behavioral, , communication, or movement-based symptoms, with no other explanation.
- ·Supportive evidence from neuroimaging or testing. Confirmed via brain autopsy.
Treatment
- ·As no cures or disease-modifying treatments have been approved, symptom management is the primary focus for FTD. Person-centered care is often used to address heterogeneous symptoms that vary between people.
Outlook
- ·Life expectancy is highly variable but is typically 7–13 years.