Frontotemporal Dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (also called frontal lobe dementia) is the term for a group of brain diseases that affects the frontal and temporal lobes in particular. It is the fourth most common cause of dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia (abbreviated FTD) is characterized by changes occurring in personality, behavior and often the ability to speak (aphasia). Contrary to Alzheimer's disease, the memory remains relatively good at first. FTD can be observed in young people and elderly people.

The diseases are divided into two groups:

• Diseases that primarily affect the frontal lobes. This group includes what many professionals call Pick's Disease. Pick's Disease, however, is only one of several diseases that can affect the frontal lobes.
• Diseases that primarily affect the temporal lobes are of two subtypes:
  • Semantic dementia, where the ability to understand language and terms is primarily lost.
  • Primary progressive aphasia, where all of the spoken language functions are affected.