Klinisches Bild und Therapie - Verhaltensstörungen bei frontotemporaler Demenz

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is, unlike Alzheimer's dementia (AD), characterized by early behavioural symptoms and personality changes. Although cognitive symptoms occur in the course of the disease, caregiver distress depends more on non-cognitive symptoms. Agitation, psychosis, depression, aberrant motor behaviour, and disinhibition particularly contribute to distress. Furthermore, the patients' quality of life and their ability to participate in normal daily activities is gradually impaired by the spreading neurodegeneration. Typically, problems in daily life occur when driving a vehicle. Patients with FTD tend to take unnecessary risks, and to violate traffic rules. They furthermore are more likely to commit small delicts than cognitively healthy individuals or patients with AD. However, severe offences are seldom. Currently there is no aetiological therapy of FTD, and even studies on symptomatological treatment options, which mostly concentrated on behavioural symptoms, are rare. Particularly certain antidepressants, so-called SSRI's (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) seem to improve behavioural symptoms. Also, antipsychotics can help in some cases.