The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia: a clinical case

Abstract

The paper is devoted to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), one of the most common forms of frontotemporal degeneration. The main symptoms of the disease include disinhibition, lack of empathy, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, apathy, cognitive impairment, appetite changes, and progressive changes in social behavior. In parallel, there are personality changes that are characterized by lower levels of self-awareness and by progressive psychological and social maladaptation of patients in society.The paper describes a clinical case of FTD in a female patient with marked behavioral changes and personality disorder. A 52-year-old woman was admitted to the alcoholism treatment department for alcohol intoxication and symptoms of mental confusion. According to her relatives, drinking too much alcohol every day, she was found to become rude, indifferent to others and her own duties, sharply limited the range of her activities and communication, and showed a decline in memory for current events. Psychopathological examination determined a distinct motivational-volitional decrease, the patient’s inability to mobilize mental activity, non-critical thinking, and indifference. X-ray diagnosis revealed the changes characteristic of frontotemporal neurodegeneration (atrophy of the frontal and temporal lobes prevails). The described case confirms that alcohol abuse can mask organic disorders that develop in systemic cerebral atrophy.

Keywords

• frontotemporal dementia
• behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia
• cognitive impairment
• dementia
• degenerative brain diseases
• functional magnetic resonance imaging
• tractography