User:Mr. Ibrahem/Frontotemporal dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) encompasses several types of dementia involving the frontal and temporal lobes. The primary symptoms generally involve behavior or language. This may include personality changes, lack of emotions, repetitive behavior, loss of vocabulary, and decreased ability to understand language. They generally start gradually and worsen over several years. Memory and motor functions often remain relatively preserved.

The cause is unknown. Risk factors include family history, head injury, and thyroid disease. The underlying mechanism involves loss of neurons, primarily spindle neurons. There are three main subtypes: behavioral variant (bvFTD) and two types of primary progressive aphasia - semantic variant (svPPA) and nonfluent variant (nfvPPA). Related disorders include progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal syndrome, and FTD with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD-ALS).

There is no cure. Management may require social supports, behavioral therapy, and speech therapy. Other efforts to improve symptoms may include SSRIs, antipsychotics, and galantamine. A number of treatments are under study. The average life expectancy is 7.5 years after diagnosis.

FTD newly affects per year about 2 per 100,000 people in their 40s, 3 per 100,000 in their 50s, and 9 per 100,000 in their 60s. Before the age of 65, it is second only to Alzheimer's disease (AD) in frequency. Those in their 40s to 60s are most commonly affected. Males and females are affected equally frequently. It was first described by Arnold Pick in 1892 and was originally called Pick's disease, a term now reserved for bvFTD.