Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD): Symptoms, Types & Understanding

Frontal temporal dementia, or FTD, is a group of conditions that affect the frontal and temporal regions of the brain. These regions control personality, behavior and language.

Types

• The three subtypes of FTD include behavioral variant FTD (or Pick's disease), semantic dementia and progressive non-fluent aphasia.

Symptoms

• Symptoms are difficult to identify specifically for FTD and are often misdiagnosed as other conditions. Clusters of symptoms include behavioral changes, speech and language difficulties, and movement disorders.

Tme Frame

• FTD generally occurs between the ages of 40 and 70, according to The Mayo Clinic.

Misconceptions

• FTD is often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease or as a psychiatric problem, states the Mayo Clinic. A medical professional specializing in FTD can make an accurate diagnosis.

Treatment

• There is no cure for FTD, and the condition cannot be slowed down or reversed. Focus is made on caretaking techniques, quality of life changes and medications, according to the Memory and Aging Center of The University of California at San Francisco.