Frontotemporal dementia: remembering images from the past.
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the most common form of primary degenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease that affects people in middle age. The average delay in reaching an accurate diagnosis has been reported to be around 3 years. We report a case of FTD in a 35-year-old female who presented with complex symptoms and no clear physical signs. This case draws attention to the problems inherent in the traditional functional-organic divide that continues to characterize investigation and diagnosis in modern psychiatric practice, and highlights the importance of reevaluating the results of previous "normal" investigations in the light of the developing clinical picture.
School of Neurology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. paul.mackin@ncl.ac.uk
Paul
P
Mackin
R
R
Hamish McAllister-Williams