Frontotemporal dementia associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: case report

Frontotemporal dementia is a form of presenile dementia, more prevalent in women than in men. In most cases it affects the behavior and personality of patients with relative preservation of cognitive status, and that is why the symptoms are not appreciated by the family. The first manifestation may be a crisis of depression, followed by behavioral disorders. As life expectancy has been increasing worldwide in recent decades, frontotemporal dementia has become more prevalent.1 Diagnosis is essentially clinical and related to changes in behavior and personality.2 The treatment of frontotemporal dementia is still limited. Behavioral symptoms are controlled by selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Researchers have found an abnormal protein that accumulates in the brains of patients with frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, C9RANT.3 In some cases studied, association with ALS was reported, and an early fatal nature in these cases was observed and was the reason for this case report.