Changes in motor activity level in individuals with frontotemporal dementia.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Motor activity changes, including hyperactivity and hypoactivity, are frequently observed in Frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
• The underlying reasons for these motor alterations and their association with specific FTD subtypes remain poorly understood.
• Early identification of motor patterns can aid in predicting disease progression and planning interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between motor activity levels (hyperactive, hypoactive, no change) and FTD clinical subtypes.
• To explore potential correlations between motor activity levels and neuroanatomical differences, specifically cortical thickness and subcortical volumes.
• To enhance understanding of motor behavior variations in FTD for improved patient management.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective chart review of 82 patients diagnosed with probable behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD), semantic variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (svPPA), or non-fluent variant PPA (nfvPPA).
• Patients were categorized into hyperactive, hypoactive, or no recorded motor activity change groups.
• Analysis of cortical thickness and subcortical volumes was performed to assess neuroanatomical associations.

Main Results:

• Hyperactivity was a prevalent feature in bvFTD (58.5%) and svPPA (68.8%) subtypes.
• Hypoactivity was less common, observed in 29.3% of bvFTD and 18.8% of svPPA patients.
• A significant majority of nfvPPA patients (66.7%) had no recorded motor activity changes. No significant associations were found between motor activity levels and cortical thickness or subcortical volumes.

Conclusions:

• Increased motor activity is highly prevalent in FTD, especially in bvFTD and svPPA.
• Current neuroanatomical measures (cortical thickness, subcortical volumes) do not appear to be directly associated with observed motor activity levels in FTD.
• Findings support the need for further research, including prospective studies with objective measures like actigraphy, to understand the onset and progression of abnormal motor behaviors in FTD.