Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra (Apr 2021)

Etiology of Dementia in Thai Patients

  • Pornpatr A. Dharmasaroja,
  • Jintana Assanasen,
  • Sunsanee Pongpakdee,
  • Kankamol Jaisin,
  • Praween Lolekha,
  • Muthita Phanasathit,
  • Laksanun Cheewakriengkrai,
  • Chanisa Chotipanich,
  • Pirada Witoonpanich,
  • Sutisa Pitiyarn,
  • Pongtawat Lertwilaiwittaya,
  • Charungthai Dejthevaporn,
  • Chanin Limwongse,
  • Kammant Phanthumchinda

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1159/000515676
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 64 – 70

Abstract

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Introduction: Molecular imaging has been developed and validated in Thai patients, comprising a portion of patients in the dementia registry. This should provide a more accurate diagnosis of the etiology of dementia, which was the focus of this study. Methods: This was a multicenter dementia study. The baseline characteristics, main presenting symptoms, and results of investigations and cognitive tests of the patients were electronically collected in the registry. Functional imaging and/or molecular imaging were performed in patients with an equivocal diagnosis of the causes of dementia, especially in atypical dementia or young onset dementia (YOD). Results: There were 454 patients in the study. The mean age of the patients was 78 years, with 60% female. Functional imaging and/or molecular imaging were performed in 57 patients (57/454 patients, 13%). The most common cause of dementia was Alzheimer’s disease (AD; 50%), followed by vascular dementia (VAD; 24%), dementia with Lewy bodies (6%), Parkinson’s disease dementia (6%), frontotemporal dementia (FTD; 2.6%), progressive supranuclear palsy (2%), multiple system atrophy (0.8%), and corticobasal syndrome (0.4%). YOD accounted for 17% (77/454 patients), with a mean age of 58 years. The causes of YOD were early onset amnestic AD (44%), VAD (16%), behavioral variant FTD (8%), posterior cortical atrophy (6.5%), and logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (5.2%). Conclusion: AD was the most common cause of dementia in Thai patients and the distribution of other types of dementia and main presenting symptoms were similar to previous reports in Western patients; however, the proportion of YOD was higher.

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