Potential Early diagnosis and Treatments for Frontotemporal Dementia

Potential Early diagnosis and Treatments for Frontotemporal Dementia

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a disorder that affects the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Some of the symptoms are similar to Alzheimer’s so much so that people with FTD are often misdiagnosed. Patients with FTD develop symptoms younger than most people with Alzheimer’s disease. FTD alters circuits in the brain, changing the connections between the front and back parts; as a result the person becomes more creative. As specific circuits are injured or disintegrated, they may make other areas of the brain more active. In as such the brain has the ability to compromise and remodel itself when damaged.

Dr. Bruce Miller, a neurologist and the director of the Memory and Aging Center at the University of California, San Francisco works with many patients with FTD. He has found that some of the patients develop artistic abilities after the decline of their frontal brain areas and the posterior regions begin to take over. Studies have shown that most artists exhibit more right posterior brain dominance. Two other symptoms of FTD involve a loss of language such as an inability to name objects or a degeneration of the spoken language. Dr. Miller believes that diagnosing the disorder earlier would aid in preventing the onset of its symptoms.

There are a few scientific studies aimed at determining the genetic links and similar cell makeup in patients with FTD. Most cases studied show common mutations in two genes on the same chromosome, number 17. One gene codes for tau and the other gene codes for a protein called progranulin. This gene causes a deficiency for progranulin and might be the cause of a buildup of TDP-43.  The deficiency of progranulin and the buildup of tau might be the cause of the disorder.

Scientists are researching drugs that will increase progranulin or prevent tau buildup. One such drug called nimodipine being tested on mice might increase progranulin in the brain. Dr. Miller believes that this drug might also help people with Alzheimer’s disease. A risk for this type of treatment is that increasing progranulin also increases the risk of cancer. The dose of nimodipine could be dangerously high as a result; future studies will test for proper doses as to reduce this side affect.

References:

Grady, Denise. Studies Tie Abnormal Protein Buildup to Dementia. The New York Times. 5 May 2012. Web. 8 December 2012

Miller, Bruce MD. Hou, Craig MD. Portraits of Artists, Emergence of Visual Creativity in Dementia. Neurological Review. 61. June 2004. 842-844.