Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a group of related conditions resulting from the progressive degeneration of the temporal and frontal lobes of the brain. These areas of the brain play a significant role in decision-making, behavioral control, emotion and language.

The term "frontotemporal dementia" (FTD) includes three different clinical subtypes: behavioral variant FTD (also historically called "frontal variant FTD" or "Pick's Disease"), semantic dementia and progressive non-fluent aphasia. The specific areas of the brain affected by each subtype cause different symptoms for each type.

If someone in their 50s or 60s shows a progressive decline in behavioral management or language skills without significant memory trouble, you might want to talk to a doctor about possible FTD. The doctor's first step will be to rule out other likely explanations like Alzheimer's disease, psychiatric problems or Parkinson's disease.

Behavioral symptoms and personality changes may include decreased concern for social norms or other people and lack of insight into their own behaviors. Language symptoms tend to include difficulty naming familiar objects. FTD patients may also show difficulty walking, rigidity, tremor or muscle weakness.

FTD usually first appears when someone is in their mid-40s to early-60s and causes a steady, gradual decline in the ability to complete the daily activities of life. The disease can last anywhere from three to 17 years from the first symptom until death, with an average duration of eight years after diagnosis.

There is no known treatment that can stop or reverse FTD yet, although UCSF’s Memory and Aging Center runs several clinical trials to test promising medications. Certain caretaking techniques, lifestyle changes and various medications can reduce the symptoms and improve the quality of life for people affected by FTD.

At the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, we have seen several people diagnosed with the language subtypes of FTD who develop new artistic skills as their illness progressed. One explanation for this phenomenon is that other parts of the brain become overactive to compensate for areas that are no longer working well.

Approximately 40% of patients with frontotemporal dementia have a family history of a similar dementia, while 60% of people with FTD develop it without any known cause. The disease can cause the outermost layers of the frontal and/or temporal lobes to shrink, particular proteins to clump and brain tissue to scar.