A group of related conditions resulting from the progressive shrinking and degeneration of the temporal lobe and frontal lobe of the brain. These areas of the brain play a significant role in decision making, behavioral control, emotion, and language. Behavioral symptoms and personality changes may include decreased concern for social norms or other people and lack of insight into one’s own behaviors. Language symptoms tend to include difficulty naming familiar objects. FTD patients may also show difficulty walking, rigidity, tremor, or muscle weakness. FTD was originally known as pick’s disease.
A general term for any of four types of dementia: 1. frontotemporal lobar degeneration; 2. Pick’s disease; 3. primary progressive aphasia; or 4. semantic dementia. Symptoms include compulsive or repetitive behavior, lack of social inhibition, and deterioration in language use.