[Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia initially diagnosed by long-standing walking habit: an autopsy case]

Here, we report a man clinically diagnosed with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia triggered by a long-standing walking habit, and pathologically diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration at death (aged 78 years). Walking habits began approximately 65 years of age for diabetes management, involving daily walks of 7-8 km along the same route. Unlike stereotypical roaming, his persistent walking with a transfixed expression suggested an impulse-control disorder in which the urge to walk could not be suppressed, combined with compulsive, ritualistic behavior. Lesion distribution in corticobasal degeneration involved the bilateral frontal lobes, anterior temporal lobes, and basal ganglia, predominantly in the frontal convexity. Functional decline in these areas may contribute to prolonged walking habit.