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Published on: September 18, 2012
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Right temporal variant frontotemporal dementia initially presenting with gradually progressing heading
Yuta Komori1, Masanori Kurihara1, Ryoji Goto1
1Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan.
The Clinical Neuropsychologist
|December 2, 2024
Summary
This study highlights heading disorientation as an early symptom of right temporal variant frontotemporal dementia (rtvFTD). Neurodegeneration in the right retrosplenial network likely causes this spatial navigation deficit.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Neurology
- Geriatric Medicine
Background:
- Topographical disorientation studies traditionally focus on cerebrovascular diseases.
- Understanding spatial navigation in neurodegenerative diseases is crucial.
- Heading disorientation is a specific type of topographical disorientation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a case of heading disorientation as an initial presentation of right temporal variant frontotemporal dementia (rtvFTD).
- To investigate the neuroanatomical basis of heading disorientation in a patient with rtvFTD.
Main Methods:
- Case study of a 71-year-old woman with progressive episodes of getting lost.
- Comprehensive neuropsychological assessments, including the card-placing test.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) for neuroimaging analysis.
Main Results:
- The patient exhibited significant topographical disorientation, specifically heading disorientation, despite preserved general cognition.
- Neuroimaging revealed right-hemispheric abnormalities involving the retrosplenial region and associated cortical network.
- Amyloid PET was negative, excluding Alzheimer's disease; behavioral symptoms confirmed rtvFTD diagnosis.
Conclusions:
- Heading disorientation can be an early clinical manifestation of rtvFTD.
- Right hemispheric neurodegeneration, particularly in the retrosplenial network, is implicated in this patient's spatial navigation deficit.
- The progressive nature of topographical symptoms in this case differs from typical presentations in cerebrovascular disease.
Keywords:
Allocentric spatial representationfrontotemporal lobar degenerationheading disorientationretrosplenial cortextopographical disorientationMore Related Videos
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