Ftd how does it work

Only genetic tests in familial cases or a brain autopsy after a person dies can confirm a diagnosis of FTD. Researchers are studying ways to diagnose FTD earlier and more accurately and to distinguish them from other types of dementia.

One area of research involves biomarkers , such as proteins or other substances in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid which can be used to measure disease progression or the effects of treatment. Researchers are also exploring ways to improve brain imaging and neuropsychological testing.

So far, there is no cure for FTD and no way to slow down or prevent these diseases. However, there are ways to manage symptoms. A team of specialists — doctors, nurses, and speech, physical, and occupational therapists — familiar with these disorders can help guide treatment. Behavior changes associated with bvFTD can upset and frustrate family members and other caregivers.

Understanding changes in personality and behavior and knowing how to respond can reduce frustration and help provide the best care for a person with FTD. Managing behavioral symptoms can involve several approaches. Here are some strategies to consider:. To ensure the safety of a person and his or her family, caregivers may have to take on new responsibilities or arrange care that was not needed before. Medications are available to treat certain behavioral symptoms.

Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are commonly prescribed to treat social disinhibition and impulsive behavior.

People with aggression or delusions sometimes take low doses of antipsychotic medications. If a particular medication is not working, a doctor may try another. Always consult a doctor before changing, adding, or stopping a drug or supplement. Treatment of PPA has two goals — maintaining language skills and using new tools and other ways to communicate.

Since language ability declines over time, different strategies may be needed as the illness progresses. The following strategies may help:. Medications and physical and occupational therapy may provide modest relief for the movement symptoms of FTD. A doctor who specializes in these disorders can guide treatment. Physical and occupational therapy may help the person move more easily. Speech therapy can help them manage language symptoms.

Exercises can keep the joints limber, and weighted walking aids — such as a walker with sandbags over the lower front rung — can help maintain balance. Speech, vision, and swallowing difficulties usually do not respond to any drug treatment.

Antidepressants have shown modest success. For people with abnormal eye movements, bifocals or special glasses called prisms are sometimes prescribed. During this time, physical therapy can help treat muscle symptoms, and a walker or wheelchair may be useful. Speech therapy may help a person speak more clearly at first.

Later on, other ways of communicating, such as a speech synthesizer, can be used. Physicians, nurses, social workers, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists who are familiar with these conditions can ensure that people with movement disorders get appropriate medical treatment and that their caregivers can help them live as well as possible.

Researchers are continuing to explore the biological changes in the body, including genetic mutations and proteins, that lead to FTD and identify and test possible new drugs and other treatments. They are also developing better ways to track disease progression, so that treatments, when they become available, can be directed to the right people. Today, there is no cure for FTD. Unfortunately, no current treatments slow or stop the progression of the disease. However, if you or a family member or loved one are affected, there are important steps that you can take to preserve and maximize quality of life.

A growing number of interventions — not limited to medication — can help with managing FTD symptoms. It is important for you and your care partner to identify a team of experts who can help with coordinating care and with the legal, financial, and emotional challenges brought on by this disease.

AFTD offers information, resources and ways to connect to others who understand. For many years, individuals with frontotemporal dementia show muscle weakness and coordination problems, leaving them needing a wheelchair — or bedbound. Help is available The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration AFTD is a nonprofit organization that provides information, education and support to those affected by frontotemporal dementia and their caregivers.

Call The Alzheimer's Association can help you learn more about Alzheimer's and other dementias, and help you find local support services. You can also call the SSA at Find Your Chapter. Take the Brain Tour. Learn More. Types of Dementia. Share or Print this page. Read more: Caregiving. Attention eg, digit span may be severely impaired. Many patients have aphasia Aphasia Aphasia is language dysfunction that may involve impaired comprehension or expression of words or nonverbal equivalents of words.

It results from dysfunction of the language centers in the cerebral Semantic dementia is a type of primary progressive aphasia. When the left side of the brain is affected most, the ability to comprehend words is progressively lost.

Speech is fluent but lacks meaning; a generic or related term may be used instead of the specific name of an object. When the right side is affected most, patients have progressive anomia inability to name objects and prosopagnosia inability to recognize familiar faces.

They cannot remember topographic relationships. Some patients with semantic dementia also have Alzheimer disease Alzheimer Disease Alzheimer disease causes progressive cognitive deterioration and is characterized by beta-amyloid deposits and neurofibrillary tangles in the cerebral cortex and subcortical gray matter. A general diagnosis of dementia Clinical criteria Dementia is chronic, global, usually irreversible deterioration of cognition.

Cognitive or behavioral neuropsychiatric symptoms interfere with the ability to function at work or do usual daily activities. Diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia is suggested by typical clinical findings eg, social disinhibition or impaired language function with relative sparing of memory. As for other dementias, cognitive deficits are evaluated. Any hint of cognitive decline requires examination of mental status see Examination CT and MRI are done to determine location and extent of brain atrophy and to exclude other possible causes eg, brain tumors, abscesses, stroke.

FTDs are characterized by severely atrophic, sometimes paper-thin gyri in the temporal and frontal lobes. Thus, FTDs and Alzheimer disease can usually be differentiated more easily by clinical criteria. For example, primary progressive aphasia differs from Alzheimer disease in that memory and visuospatial function are preserved and syntax and fluency are impaired. Positron emission tomography PET with fluorine 18F —labeled deoxyglucose fluorodeoxyglucose, or FDG may help differentiate Alzheimer disease from FTD by showing differences in location of hypometabolic areas.

In Alzheimer disease, these areas are located in the posterior temporoparietal association cortex and posterior cingulate cortex; in FTD, they are located in the anterior regions—in the frontal lobes, anterior temporal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex. Frontotemporal dementias usually progress gradually, but progression rate varies; if symptoms are limited to speech and language, progression to general dementia may be slower.

There is no specific treatment for frontotemporal dementia.