What are Frontotemporal dementias (FTDs)
These are a group of disorders that were first classified together
because they shared clinical features (progressive deterioration of language and changes in
personality) corresponding to degeneration and atrophy of temporal and frontal lobes. [49]
What is that same feature being shared by frontotemporal dementias?
progressive deterioration in language and personality
What is that accumulated deposit being shared the same by FTDs which is the characteristic finding?
tau-containing deposits as their characteristic finding,
giving rise to the term tauopathy.
This is a genetically determined disorder in which the clinical syndrome of a FTD is often
accompanied by parkinsonian symptoms.
Frontotemporal Dementia with Parkinsonism Linked to Tau Mutations
What is the pathogenesis of FTD?
The study of families with FTD led to the recognition that in some, but not all, pedigrees there
are mutations in the MAPT gene encoding tau.
The mutations fall into several broad
categories: coding-region mutations and intronic mutations.
What is the morphology of FTD?