The frontotemporal disorders, sometimes referred to as frontotemporal dementia, are caused by damage to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. There one can start losing the control over these parts. Typically, the ability to speak and to understand the spoken language becomes lost; one may also lose control over their behavior.
This disease is very rare and typically appears in 60% of the people suffering from it. They fall in the age group of 45 to 64 years. This is a progressive disease. Therefore, the symptoms worsen with time. Most people start developing just one symptom at an initial stage, and at the later stages, this begins to take over other parts of the brain as well. We will be covering the causes, symptoms, and treatments of this illness in this blog.
How Long Can a Person Survive with FTD?
The age of survival of a patient with frontotemporal dementia is not easy to predict. In some patients, it survived for almost 10 years after they were diagnosed with the disorder. In other cases, the patient departed from this world within less than 2 years after diagnosis. Currently, no cure has been known for FTD, though it is possible to lessen the symptoms and prolong one’s life through the administration of treatments to manage its symptoms.
Who Does It Affect?
The frontotemporal dementia is basically an age related condition that can happen way before than most age-related diseases. Most people develop the intial FTD conditions between the ages of 50 and 80. The average age when the conditions starts is around 58 years.
Different Types of Frontotemporal Dementia Disorders (FTD):
Here are the three different types of frontotemporal dementia disorder:
Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia
The most common type of FTD basically involves a change in personality, judgment, and behavior. People who are suffering from this type of disorder can have issues with cognition, but their memory may stay intact. The possible symptoms of this type of dementia include:
- Difficulty in prioritizing activities and tasks
- Becoming disinterested in family members and close ones
- Issues with sequencing and planning
- Doing inappropriate things without thinking about how others would perceive
Primary Progressive Aphasia
Primary Progressive Aphasia, also known as PPA, relates to the changes that come in communication. It includes everything from reading, writing, speaking, and understanding. One can have difficulty using and understanding words, which is called aphasia. Others find it difficult to properly speak that includes slurred speech. There are people who sometimes hae both the symptoms which can lead them later on becoming mute or unable to speak.
Movement Disorders
Conditions classified as atypical parkinsonian syndromes movement disorders in FTD include corticobasal syndrome (CBS), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and rarely amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with FTD, presenting various motor signs that often mimic or resemble Parkinson’s disease but differ in its course of progression and responses to any treatment.
Signs of Frontotemporal Dementia
Here are some of the frontotemporal dementia symptoms that a person should look out for:
- Individuals affected by FTD have diminished empathy and emotional response toward other individuals.
- Some signs of FTD include hyperphagia or accretion and compulsion.
- It impacts fluency in speaking, the capability to comprehend any type of language, whether written or oral, and expression.
- Some of them include muscle stiffness and rigidity, tremors, poor coordination, difficulties in swallowing, and problems in control of eye movement.
Is It Possible to Treat the Frontotemporal Dementia Disorders?
No definite cure for FTD exists or its movement-related subtypes. Nevertheless, several remedies exist for the purpose of controlling the symptoms, bringing improvements to the lives of the patients and the patients’ carers. This is all based on treatment that focuses on a series of different symptoms.
1. Medications for Symptom Management
- Motor Symptoms: In PSP and CBS syndromes, due to FTD, movement symptoms typically are not responsive to levodopa-like drugs used to treat classical Parkinson’s disease, thus making management of the symptoms challenging.
- Behavioral and Emotional Symptoms: In these patients, medications may include antidepressants or antipsychotics to address symptoms of depression, anxiety, and agitation. Care needs to be taken, as side effects can become burdensome.
2. Mobility and Communication Therapies
Physical and Occupational Therapy: These assist in preserving mobility, flexibility, and coordination so as to maintain independence for as long as possible. Also, occupational therapy allows the patient to learn how to accomplish daily activities using tools and techniques that allow him or her to make way for declining motor skills.
Speech and Language Therapy: Speech therapy can be regarded as an exercise and adaptive strategies for the victims who have speech and swallowing impairments, through which communication is improved and overcoming the challenge of swallowing safely.
3. Research and Experimental Treatments
Research efforts are actively pursuing the possibility of slowing down or changing the progress of FTD by interventions at its mechanisms’ level: the accumulation of proteins. Without treatment that will slow disease-modifying symptoms, drug-target studies of tau and TDP-43 proteins were proposed to carry the hope of a treatment.
4. Support to Caregivers
A patient diagnosed with FTD subjects the caregivers to a great deal of emotional and physical stress. Support groups, respite care, and counseling have helped caregivers cope with the day-to-day struggle of caring for an FTD patient. Through community support groups and online forums, caregivers can vent out and share experiences that may offer emotional support to other caregivers.
Conclusion
The frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an extremely rare, early-onset form of brain disorder, with its age of onset falling in the range of 45-64 years of age. It causes personality and language changes and difficulties in movement. There are no cures, but its symptoms can be treated using drugs, therapy, and support from caregivers. More research is being carried out on slowing down progression, developing disease-modifying treatments, and providing caregivers’ support to those affected.