This article describes how the onset of bvFTD can be heralded by psychiatric symptoms.
Method:
Case reports are described with reference to the relevant literature review.
Results:
Three patients were admitted with psychiatric symptoms, including depression, mania, psychosis and catatonia. Two had been previously diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder. All three were diagnosed with probable bvFTD.
Conclusion:
bvFTD is an important differential diagnosis to consider when patients present with atypical psychiatric symptoms.
GossinkFTVijverbergEGKrudoW, et al. Psychosis in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat2017; 13: 1099–1106.
2.
DucharneSPriceBHLarvieM, et al. Clinical approach to the differential diagnosis between behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia and primary psychiatric disorders. Am J Psychiatry2015; 172: 827–837.
3.
StarksJRosenbloomM. Management of psychiatric features in frontotemporal dementia. Psychiatr Ann2017; 47: 246–257.
4.
LanataSCMillerBL. The behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) syndrome in psychiatry. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry2016; 87: 501–511.
5.
HolmeAC. Neurodegenerative and psychiatric overlap in frontotemporal lobar degeneration: a case of familial frontotemporal dementia presenting with catatonia. Int Psychogeriatr2014; 26: 345–357.
6.
BonnerMFAshSGrossmanM. The new classification of primary progressive aphasia into semantic, logopenic, or nonfluent/agrammatic variants, Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep2010; 10: 484–490.
7.
KerssensCJKrudopWAPrinsND, et al. Schizophrenia as a mimic of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Neurocase2016; 22: 285–288.
8.
ShinogawaS. Phenotypic variety in the presentation of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Int Rev Psychiatry2013; 25: 138–144.
RascovskyKHodgesJRKnopmanD, et al. Sensitivity of revised diagnostic criteria for the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia. Brain2011; 134: 2456–2477.
11.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edn.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, 2013.
12.
WoolleyJDKhanBKMurthyNK, et al. The diagnostic challenge of psychiatric symptoms in neurodegenerative disease: rates of and risk factors for prior psychiatric diagnosis in patients with early neurodegenerative disease. J Clin Psychiatry2011; 72: 126–133.
WylieMAShnallAOnyikeCU, et al. Management of frontotemporal dementia in mental health and multidisciplinary settings. Int Rev Psychiatry2013; 25: 230–236.
15.
OliveiraPRoqueCSantosV, et al. Clinical overlap between behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia and bipolar disorder: a case report. Eur Psychiatry2016; 33: 335–336.
16.
ManesFFTorralvaTRocaM, et al. Frontotemporal dementia presenting as pathological gambling. Nat Rev Neurol2010; 6: 347–352.
17.
VelakoulisDWalterfangMMocellinR, et al. Frontotemporal dementia presenting as schizophrenia-like psychosis in young people: clinicopathological series and review of cases. Br J Psychiatry2009; 194: 298–305.
18.
OnyikeCUHueyE. Frontotemporal dementia and psychiatry. Int Rev Psychiatry2013; 25: 127–129.
19.
LimATsuangDKukullW, et al. Clinico-neuropathological correlation of Alzheimer’s disease in a community based case series. J Am Geriatr Soc1999; 47: 564–569.
20.
PoKLeslieFVGraciaN, et al. Heritability in frontotemporal dementia: more missing pieces?J Neurol2014; 261: 2170–2177.
21.
BudsonAKowallN (eds). The Handbook of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias (1st edn.). Chichester, West Sussex, UK: Blackwell Publishing, 2011.
22.
LimASeeCLimL, et al. Differentiating frontal variant Alzheimer’s disease from behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Alzheimers Demen J Alzheimers Assoc2017; 13: 734.
23.
CecchiniMAYassudaMSBahiaVS, et al. Recalling feature bindings differentiates Alzheimer’s disease from frontotemporal dementia. J Neurol2017; 264: 2162–2169.
24.
ZhangLLWangYChengY, et al. Characteristics of cognitive function, behavioral and psychological symptoms in patients with Alzheimer’s disease versus behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Chin J Int Med2017; 56: 903–908.
25.
MotitaMAl-ChalabiAAndersenPM, et al. A locus on chromosome 9p confers susceptibility to ALS and frontotemporal dementia. Neurology2006; 66: 839–844.
