Frontal Lobe Dementia

Frontal lobe dementia affects the frontal lobes initially, damaging them and causing problems like loss of judgment, alterations in behavior and change in the way of one's emotional expression. Frontal lobe dementia and Pick's disease are the cause of less than 10% of all the dementias and should be distinguished from Alzheimer's disease early in the course of the illness. For the patients suffering from Pick's disease, the temporal lobes of the brain get affected in 25% of the cases, frontal lobes in 25% of the cases and both frontal and temporal lobes in 50% of the cases. With the passage of time, the patients suffering from frontal lobe dementia, which is also known as frontotemporal dementia, may appear to be having problems in almost all areas of mental function. These patients often suffer from a sudden alteration in personality, change in normal behavior and the non-ability to perform efficiently.

The frontal lobe is an area of the brain in mammals which govern their overall behavior. It is responsible for the ability to recognize and determine the similarities and differences between two things. A person suffering from frontal lobe dementia may exhibit a sudden change in personality and an intransigent attitude. It is sometimes confused with vascular dementia which is a degenerative cerebro-vascular disease that leads to a progressive decline in memory and cognitive functioning. For proper treatment, it is necessary to distinguish between the symptoms of both the diseases. Frontal lobe dementia can affect both men and women and it usually begins between 40 to 65 years of age. Nearly 50% of the people suffering with this type of dementia, have a family history of the disease.

Causes of Frontal Lobe Dementia

• Diabetes: Diabetes may trigger the risk of frontal lobe dementia and the chances are especially high if the onset of diabetes occurs in middle age.
• Smoking: Smoking, for all reasons is injurious to health and is a potential cause for lung cancer, throat cancer and frontal lobe dementia.
• High cholesterol: Cholesterol is present in the cell walls or membranes everywhere in the body and is used to produce many hormones, vitamin D and bile acids. Increased levels of cholesterol in the body contribute to the narrowing inside arteries, and blockages that cause the symptoms of heart diseases and frontal lobe dementia.
• High blood pressure (hypertension): Sometimes, high blood pressure also causes disturbance in the mental balance, resulting in symptoms of frontal lobe dementia.

Symptoms of Frontal Lobe Dementia

Following are the symptoms generally seen in people suffering from frontal lobe dementia.

• Inappropriate social behavior, like doing sit-ups in a public restroom, and complete lack of concern towards personal appearance.
• Loss of ethical and moral values by frequently using obscene language in public.
• Dramatic increase or decrease in talking.
• Reduced sexual interest.
• Change in personal habits like, carrying out repeated actions that are inappropriate or not relevant to the situation at hand.
• Diminished creativity as well as problem solving skills.
• Loss of language and ability to perform complex tasks.

For the diagnosis of frontal lobe dementia, there are various techniques available such as Electroencephalogram (EEG), brain scans and neuro-psychological tests. These tests are necessary to confirm if the symptoms shown by the patient are of frontal lobe dementia or of some other disorder like vascular dementia and Alzheimer's disease. During the course of treatment, proper emotional support should be provided to the patient to increase the chances of recovery.