Causes and Heredity
(15-08-2005)
Frontotemporal dementia is hereditary in appr. 30-40 % of cases. There are two main groups of hereditary forms that are called:
FTDP-17
One type is due to changes in the gene for the tau protein. It leaves a deposit of the tau protein in certain nerve cells. Tau deposits can also be observed in other (non-hereditary) dementia diseases. The disease has been named FTDP-17 because it is a frontotemporal dementia with simultaneous Parkinson's symptoms due to a change in the tau gene on chromosome 17.
FTD-3
This is due to a change in a gene on chromosome 3.