Frontotemporal dementia in a Nigerian woman: case report and brief review of the literature

Abstract

Frontotemporal lobal degeneration (FTLD) is a clinically heterogeneous group of sporadic and familial neurodegenerative diseases characterized by dementia, alteration in language and/or behaviour, loss of executive skills and sometimes Parkinsonian features resulting from degeneration predominantly affecting the anterior frontal and temporal regions of the brain. Three main clinical subtypes including frontotemporal dementia _(FTD), semantic dementia (SD) and progressive non-fluent aphasia (PNFA) have been described depending on the clinical phenomenology Athe areas of the brain where the disorder begins and where the most extensive degeneration occurs. We describe a case of frontotemporal dementia in a 58-year-old Nigerian woman and also review the current literature. Recent genetic studies have expanded the frontiers of knowledge about FTD while the search for appropriate drug treatments continues.