Frontotemporal Dementia Connections Reprint

Scientists and clinicians have identified a number of progressive degenerative brain conditions (other than Alzheimer's Disease) that cause dementia, including a rare group of diseases called frontotemporal dementia. FTD primarily affects the frontal and anterior temporal lobes of the brain. These areas control "executive functions" such as reasoning, personality, social behavior, movement, speech, language, and certain aspects of memory. FTD usually develops between the ages of 35 and 75, and affects men and women about equally. While FTD is different from and much less common than Alzheimer's disease, new knowledge about these rarer forms of dementia also may shed light on AD.

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©2002 National Institute of Aging

 

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