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frontal-subcortical dementia
Etiology:
1) most dementias other than Alzheimer's disease have predominantly frontal-subcortical features
2) AIDS dementia complex exemplifies frontal-subcortical dementia
Pathology:
- involvement of frontal-subcortical circuits in the basal ganglia, thalamus & subcortical white matter (leukoaraiosis)
Clinical manifestations:
1) slowed mental processing
2) difficulty in memory retrieval
3) increased prominence of affective disorders
a) apathy
b) depression
c) may be disinhibition
4) presence of movement disorders
a) gait disorder
b) tone
5) attention abnormal
6) relative sparing of language
a) dysarthria
b) decreased verbal fluency,
c) perseveration with frontal involvement
7) impaired executive function
Related
cortical versus frontal-subcortical dementia
frontotemporal dementia; frontotemporal lobar degeneration; frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder (FTD, FTLD)
General
dementia; Alzheimer's disease & related dementias (ADRD)
References
- Mendez, M. In: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, Osterweil et
al eds, McGraw Hill, New York, 2000, pg 89, 90
- Mendez MF & Cummings JL, Dementia: A Clinical Approach,
Butterworth & Heinemann, Philadelphia (2003)