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Frontotemporal dementia versus Alzheimer's disease: differential cognitive features
M F Mendez1, M Cherrier, K M Perryman
1Department of Neurology, University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, USA.
Neurology
|November 1, 1996
Summary
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) patients showed better performance in drawing and calculation tasks compared to Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. These findings aid in differentiating FTD from AD in clinical settings.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Neurology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are common neurodegenerative dementias.
- Clinical differentiation between FTD and AD can be challenging.
- Pathology distribution differs between FTD and AD, leading to distinct cognitive features.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify cognitive features that can help distinguish FTD from AD.
- To compare the cognitive performance of FTD patients with AD patients.
Main Methods:
- Compared 39 FTD patients with 101 AD patients.
- Utilized the Consortium to Establish a Registry in AD (CERAD) examination and the Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination (NCSE).
- Diagnosed FTD using noncognitive clinical and neuroimaging criteria.
Main Results:
- FTD patients performed significantly better than AD patients on constructional and calculation tasks.
- These preserved abilities in FTD were near the lower limit of normal for healthy older adults.
- The preserved performance persisted even after adjusting for age and Mini-Mental Status Examination (MMSE) scores.
Conclusions:
- Relatively preserved performance in elementary drawing and calculation tasks can serve as additional features to distinguish FTD from AD.
- These cognitive findings, alongside personality and neuroimaging features, aid in differential diagnosis.