Clinical aspect of Frontotemporal dementia

Manabu Ikeda

Department of Neuropsychiatry, Neuroscience,
Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine

Epidemiologic studies both in the community-based and hospital-based demonstrate that frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a more common cause of early-onset dementia than previously recognized. Behavioral and psychiatric symptoms are predominant initial symptoms in FTD. These unusual behaviors of FTD, such as disinhibition, loss of social awareness, overeating, perseverative and stereotyped behavior, and impulsivity, are serious obstacles to managing and caring for patients with FTD. Among these behavioral disturbances, stereotypic behaviors and abnormal eating behaviors discriminate FTD from AlzheimerAlzheimer'srsquo;s disease effectively. In care for patients with FTD, behavioral disturbances can be diminished and the quality of life can be improved by using their preserved procedural memory, pathological stereotypic behavior and stimulus-bound behavior such as utilization behavior and environmental dependency syndrome. The results of recent studies suggested that irritability, aberrant motor behavior, eating behaviors, roaming and other stereotypical behaviors impacted by treatment with serotonin selective reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).

Address correspondence to Dr. Manabu Ikeda, Department of Neuropsychiatry, Neuroscience Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine (Shitsukawa, Toon-shi, Ehime 791-0295, Japan)