Professional paper

SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR VS. PSYCHIATRIC FEATURES OF FRONTOTEMPORAL DEMENTIA. Clinical report of two cases

Rajka Marija Liščić ; Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Aleš Kogoj ; Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, University Psychiatry Hospital, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Abstract

Behavioural disturbances are prominent in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a focal, non-Alzheimer type of dementia. Although most patient with FTD present with socially inappropriate behaviour, compulsive-like acts, poor insight and disinhibition, the presence of psychiatric features including delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia can lead to a misclassification of FTD as psychiatric disorder. In the absence of cognitive deficits non-experts fail to recognize these social changes as demetia symptoms.
We report two individuals who meet current clinical criteria for behaviour or frontal variant FTD (bv-FTD), with the aim of distinguising between psychotic symptoms and the often bizzar personality and behaviour change found in FTD. Also we rewiew the literature on the noncognitive neuropsychiatric manifestation of this disorder.
Clinical findings presented, and the literature rewiew, indicated that psychotic symptoms are rare in FTD. Better awearness of behavioural symptoms in clinical practice is necessary in order to avoid misdiagnostic of FTD as psychiatric disorder.

Keywords

bv-frontotemporal dementia; behavioural disturbances; psychotic symptoms

Hrčak ID:

55650

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/55650

Publication date:

30.6.2010.

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