title: [Frontotemporal dementia and schizophrenia in later life: a comparison of executive and general cognitive functioning].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterised clinically by progressive changes in behaviour and personality; these changes are followed by cognitive disorder. FTD needs to be differentiated from other forms of dementia and from psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia. Both FTD and schizophrenia lead to cognitive disorders and particularly to executive impairments.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To compare executive and general cognitive functioning in patients with FTD and in patients with schizophrenia in later life.
  
  
  METHODS
  As cognitive screening instruments we used the 'Frontal Assessment Battery' (FAB) and the 'Mini-Mental State Examination' (MMSE). The FAB en MMSE test results (retrieved from the database of the Alzheimer centre of the VU medical centre) for 25 outpatients diagnosed as having FTD were compared with the test results (retrieved from the 'SOUL' study database) for 31 elderly schizophrenia patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In both the fab and the MMSE tests the scores for the patients with FTD were significantly lower than the scores for the patients with schizophrenia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study suggests that, despite the clinical similarities, there are differences between patients with FTD and elderly patients with schizophrenia with regard to executive and general cognitive functioning. Further studies are needed in order to differentiate between the two illnesses.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: M M J
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Smeets-Janssen
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Meesters
authors.forename: A E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: van der Vlies
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kerssens
authors.forename: Y A L
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Pijnenburg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D010054:Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*