Language in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: Another Stone to Be Turned in Latin America

Abstract

Beyond canonical deficits in social cognition and interpersonal conduct, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) involves language difficulties in a substantial proportion of cases. However, since most evidence comes from high-income countries, the scope and relevance of language deficits in Latin American bvFTD samples remain poorly understood. As a first step toward reversing this scenario, we review studies reporting language measures in Latin American bvFTD cohorts relative to other groups. We identified 24 papers meeting systematic criteria, mainly targeting phonemic and semantic fluency, naming, semantic processing, and comprehension skills. The evidence shows widespread impairments in these domains, often related to overall cognitive disturbances. Some of these deficits may be as severe as in other diseases where they are more widely acknowledged, such as Alzheimer's disease. Considering the prevalence and informativeness of language deficits in bvFTD patients from other world regions, the need arises for more systematic research in Latin America, ideally spanning multiple domains, in diverse languages and dialects, with validated batteries. We outline key challenges and pathways of progress in this direction, laying the ground for a new regional research agenda on the disorder.

Editorial: The Unusual Suspects: Linguistic Deficits in Non-Language-Dominant Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…Yet, verbal dysfunctions are also pervasive across neurodegenerative diseases typified by mnesic, socio-cognitive, or motoric alterations (García et al, 2022 ). This has been shown, for instance, in Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Taler and Phillips, 2008 ), behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) (Geraudie et al, 2021a , b )(Geraudie et al, 2021a , b ), progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSPs) (Peterson et al, 2021 ), corticobasal syndrome (CBS) (Peterson et al, 2021 ), and Parkinson's disease (PD) (Birba et al, 2017 ). With a few exceptions (Boschi et al, 2017 ; García et al, 2022 ), however, relevant evidence has been compiled for each disorder separately, failing to foreground the transnosological import of language assessments in behavioral neurology.…”