466
Views
2
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
New and Emerging Professionals

A Case of Fronto-Temporal Dementia (FTD) Masquerading as Mood Disorder

, MD, MS, , BMed, , BMed, , MD, PHD, , MD & , MD, PHD
 

ABSTRACT

A 56-year old Chinese female was referred to an academic medical center with atypical, treatment-resistant depression that continued for approximately 3 years after her sister’s death.

Comprehensive evaluation including neurocognitive testing, EEG, spinal tap, HIV testing and brain MRI revealed behavioral variant of fronto-temporal dementia (bvFTD) with significant frontal and temporal lobe atrophy.This patient’s unusual clinical presentation emphasizes the overlap between depression and bvFTD, and underlines the importance of prompt, accurate diagnosis to minimize often-ineffective pharmacological interventions and caregiver burnout.

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to acknowledge Dr. J. Wallman, MD, who kindly offered his expertise in radiology, reviewed MRI images and provided his opinion, and Ms. E. M. J. Palmer for language editing. We thank the patient and her husband, who provided their written informed consent for publication of this report, which was reviewed by the departmental Oversight Committee of the Xijing Hospital. The authors declare no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this article.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.