title: A scale of socioemotional dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia.
abstract: Early social dysfunction is a hallmark symptom of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD); however, validated measures for assessing social deficits in dementia are needed. The purpose of the current study was to examine the utility of a novel informant-based measure of social impairment, the Socioemotional Dysfunction Scale (SDS) in early-onset dementia. Sixteen bvFTD and 18 early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD) participants received standard clinical neuropsychological measures and neuroimaging. Caregiver informants were administered the SDS. Individuals with bvFTD exhibited greater social dysfunction on the SDS compared with the EOAD group; t(32) = 6.32, p < .001. The scale demonstrated preliminary evidence for discriminating these frequently misdiagnosed groups (area under the curve = 0.920, p = <.001) and internal consistency α = 0.977. The SDS demonstrated initial evidence as an effective measure for detecting abnormal social behavior and discriminating bvFTD from EOAD. Future validation is recommended in larger and more diverse patient groups.
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA joseph.barsuglia@va.gov joseph.barsuglia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Barsuglia
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Natalie C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Stacy Schantz
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Simantini J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Karve
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Robin J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Barrows
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Pongsatorn
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Paholpak
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Hemali Vijay
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Panchal
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Elvira E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Jimenez
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Mather
authors.affiliation: V.A. Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Neurology, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Mario F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Mendez
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000592:standards*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology
keywords: Behavioral assessment; Dementia; Neurodegenerative diseases; Presenile dementia; Semantic dementia; Social behavior