title: Frontotemporal dementia in eight Chinese individuals.
abstract: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) has rarely been reported in Chinese populations. There are many potential reasons for this, including possible hesitancy on the part of patients or families to bring FTD-related symptoms to medical attention. Here, we present data on eight Chinese individuals, all of whom met criteria for the behavioral variant of FTD or the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia. These patients presented for neurological evaluation at a relatively advanced stage. The mean MMSE score at initial presentation was 15. Behavioral symptoms were common and usually elicited during the medical history only after direct questioning. Delay in presentation was attributed to a variety of issues, including family disagreements about whether the symptoms represented a disease and lack of medical insurance. These cases illustrate that the symptoms of FTD in Chinese-Americans are similar to those in Caucasians but various factors, some potentially culturally relevant, may influence the likelihood and timing of clinical presentation for FTD, as well as other dementias. Additional study of FTD in diverse ethnic groups needs to address barriers to clinical presentation, including factors that may be culturally specific.
authors: Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors: Steven Z
authors: SZ
authors: Chao
authors: Howard J
authors: HJ
authors: Rosen
authors: Virgina
authors: V
authors: Azor
authors: Hilary
authors: H
authors: Ong
authors: Marian M
authors: MM
authors: Tse
authors: Ngan Betty
authors: NB
authors: Lai
authors: Craig E
authors: CE
authors: Hou
authors: William W
authors: WW
authors: Seeley
authors: Bruce L
authors: BL
authors: Miller
authors: Brandy R
authors: BR
authors: Matthews
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D018888:Aphasia, Primary Progressive / Q000523:psychology; D001213:Asian; D044466:Asian People; D001519:Behavior; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D003469:Culture; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D020774:Pick Disease of the Brain / Q000473:pathology; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography