Frontotemporal dementia in eight Chinese individuals

Abstract

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has rarely been reported in Chinese populations. There are many potential reasons for this, including possible hesitancy on the part of patients or families to bring FTD-related symptoms to medical attention. Here, we present data on eight Chinese individuals, all of whom met criteria for the behavioral variant of FTD or the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia. These patients presented for neurological evaluation at a relatively advanced stage. The mean MMSE score at initial presentation was 15. Behavioral symptoms were common and usually elicited during the medical history only after direct questioning. Delay in presentation was attributed to a variety of issues, including family disagreements about whether the symptoms represented a disease and lack of medical insurance. These cases illustrate that the symptoms of FTD in Chinese Americans are similar to those in Caucasians but various factors, some potentially culturally-relevant, may influence the likelihood and timing of clinical presentation for FTD, as well as other dementias. Additional study of FTD in diverse ethnic groups needs to address barriers to clinical presentation, including factors that may be culturally specific.

Combining Neuropsychological Assessment with Neuroimaging to Distinguish Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease from Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration in Non-Western Tonal Native Language-Speaking Individuals Living in Taiwan: A Case Series

“…In addition, bvFTD individuals had the lowest number of completed CANTAB IED stages and typical bvFTD symptoms, such as apathy, compulsive behavior, deficits in executive functioning, and abrupt mood changes [ 26 ]. Our findings are in good agreement with previously reported results on the early diagnosis of bvFTD in the Chinese population [ 35 , 85 ] and provide evidence supporting the use of NPTs targeting social cognition in the clinical diagnosis of bvFTD.…”

Annual review of Asian American Psychology, 2014.

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. 3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,15,16,17,18,21,24,25,27,28,29,30,33,34,35,36,37,38,40,41,42,43,45,46,47,48,49,50,52,53,55,56,57,58,59,60,62,63,64,65,66,67,68,70,71,72,73,74,75,76,…”

“…This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. 4,5,10,12,16,24,26,27,28,29,30,32,33,35,37,39,41,42,44,50,55,56,59,60,63,68,70,71,73,74,75,77,83,85,88,89,91,96,98,104,106,109,111,113,114,120,121,124,128,134,135,137,138,139,140,141,142,143,147,148,153,158,...…”

Alzheimer’s Disease and its Related Dementias among Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders: A Scoping Review

“…Cognitive deficits and awareness of memory problems were present years prior to diagnosis or onset of dementia [66,93]. A study on frontotemporal dementia in Chinese Americans found that symptoms of the disease in this group were similar to those in Caucasians [94].…”

“…Five studies in our review examined symptoms and clinical functioning of ADRD, with four out of the five studies stemming from the HAAS dataset [27,66,85,93,94]. Stewart et al (2005) found that dementiaassociated weight loss began before the onset of the clinical symptoms and accelerated by the time of diagnosis [85].…”