Evolution of Concepts of Differential Diagnostics in Frontotemporal Dementia

Abstract

Background:  frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of neurodegenerative diseases, with onset usually in presenile age, the clinical picture is manifested by behavioral disorders and relatively intact cognitive features in the initial disease. In  the early stages of FTD, it is difficult to differentiate this type from other dementias or other mental diseases. The  aim was to analyse recent scientific publications on the problem of differential diagnostics of frontotemporal dementia.  Material and methods:  using the keywords “frontotemporal dementia”, “frontotemporal lobar degeneration”, “differential diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia”, “behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia”, selected and analyze publications for the last two decades. Results: the behavioral variant of FTD (bv-FTD) is the most common form of FTD, accounting for 50% of all cases of FTD, and especially in cases with early onset. Predominantly, this variant of FTD presents diagnostic difficulties, due to the limited accuracy of neuroimaging examinations and the lack of specific biomarkers. The clinical symptoms of bv-FTD are characterized by considerable overlap with symptoms of neurodegenerative diseases and mental diseases, such as schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and personality disorders. Conclusion: the diagnosis of FTD at the initial stage of the disease is problematic and difficult, the sensitivity and specificity of almost all diagnostic methods increase as the disease progresses. This literature review highlights some of the diagnostic methods that can be used in suspected cases of FTD and informs about the differential diagnostics recommendations that have been developed to improve the accuracy of FTD diagnosis.