title: Neuropsychological performance of right- and left-frontotemporal dementia compared to Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The performance of 16 patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) was compared to 11 patients with right-frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and 11 patients with left-FTD on a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. Standardized scores (i.e., z scores based on normal control data) were analyzed for 5 cognitive domains. The results revealed that the AD group displayed significant impairment in visual-constructional ability relative to the two FTD groups; however, no significant difference was found between the groups on memory scores (verbal and nonverbal). Patients with left-FTD scored significantly below patients with AD on the language measures (e.g., word retrieval, verbal semantic memory), and verbal executive ability (phonemic fluency); AD patients did not differ from patients with right-FTD on these measures. Patients with right-FTD exhibited significantly more perseverative behavior than AD patients; AD patients did not differ from left-FTD patients on this parameter. These results indicate that the pattern of neuropsychological performance of AD patients is distinguishable from patients with left and right frontal frontotemporal dementia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA 90509-2910, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Razani
authors.forename: K B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Boone
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sherman
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001072:Apraxias / Q000175:diagnosis; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology