Common Symptoms & Features of Frontotemporal Dementia

Common Features/Symptoms of Frontotemporal Dementia

Caused by disorders that primarily affect the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain  

• Commonly diagnosed between the ages of 45 and 65
• Evidence of a genetic component  
• 3 main variants or types of FTD (1. Behavioral Variant, 2. Primary Progressive Aphasia, 3. Progressive Motor Decline)

Things we may see with Behavioral Variant:

• Significant impact on personality, behavior, and judgment  
• Swearing more, stealing, more sexually explicit  
• Poor hygiene habits  
• Increased impulsiveness
• Increased aggression  
• Mood swings
• Emotionally disconnected and socially inappropriate
• Apathy

Things we may see with Primary Progressive Aphasia:  

• Loss of ability to understand or express speech  
• Word finding difficulties  
• Loss of ability to recognize familiar faces or common objects  
• Difficulty producing speech to the point they may not be able to speak at all  

Things we may see with Progressive Motor Decline:

• Difficulty with physical movement
• Tremors or jerk-like movements  
• Muscle rigidity and stiffness  
• Difficulty walking
• Impaired balance  
• Poor gross and fine motor coordination  
• Slowed movements  
• Increased Muscle Weakness  

Want to learn more about Frontotemporal Dementia?

https://www.alz.org/media/documents/alzheimers-dementia-frontotemporal-dementia-ts.pdf

https://order.nia.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2019-04/Frontotemporal-Disorders-booklet-508.pdf

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