Study relationship between functional impairment and performance in planning activities in FTLD and AD
patients (11 FTLD and 29 AD)
Dementia rating scale (DRS) Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) Cognitive difficulties scale (CDS) Physical self-maintenance scale (ADL) Instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) Social activities scale (SADL) Tower of London Dysexecutive questionnaire (DEX), the key search, the zoo map, and the six elements from the behavioural assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome (BADS)
No significant differences between bvFTD and AD on ADLs. No relationship between planning and executive function tests with functionality in either patient group An association was found between CDR and MMSE and functional performance in the two groups
Compare performance of demented elderly with different levels of severity in questionnaires on basic activities of daily living (BADL) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Determine correlation between the ADL questionnaires applied
Assess ADLs and cognitive performance in subtypes of frontotemporal dementia, bvFTD, nonfluent progressive aphasia (NFPA), semantic dementia (SD) Ascertain the relationship between functional deficits and cognitive dysfunction of patients and compare against patients with AD
patients with dementia (bvFTD = 15, NFPA = 10, SD 15, and AD = 19)
For functional performance, bvFTD patients were most impaired (56% with functionality preserved), whereas NFPA and SD patients were less impaired (83% and 85% were functionally preserved). AD subjects had intermediate performance (76% showed preserved functionality). On ACE-R, the NFPA and SD groups had worse performance than bvFTD and AD patients. DAD performance did not correlate with cognitive measures, CDR, or time diagnosed with the disease
Correlate performance on executive function tasks with functional performance
patients with dementia (3 FTLD, 21 AD, and 10 VD) and 35 healthy controls
Wisconsin card sorting test (WCST) Verbal fluency (FAS) Modified version of the Lawton-Brody measure (IADL) Direct assessment of functional status (DAFS)
Significant correlation between verbal fluency and DAFS. Moderate correlation between WCST and performance on subjective functionality scale
Assess the relationship between performance on ADLs in patients with mild dementia and the relationship with emotional burden of caregivers
patients with dementia (5 FTLD, 23 AD, 5 VD, and 1 with undiagnosed form of dementia)
Direct assessment of functional status (DAFS) Lawton-Brody measure (IADL) Caregiver burden inventory (CBI) Brief symptom inventory (BSI)
Significant correlations between DAFS, caregiver burden (CBI), and psychological problems (BSI) On DAFS, impaired orientation, communication, finances, and transport were associated with greater burden and hostility in caregivers Impaired financial ability was strongest predictor of time dependent on caregivers, whereas impairment on transport domain predicted time since clinical diagnosis
Functional ability was moderately impaired in AD and FTD and mildly impaired in PPA For all groups, more complex ADLs were impaired early on, with relative preservation of self-care activities. The communication score was the least impaired next to self-care for FTD and AD and the most impaired for PPA patients
Compare information from caregiver against direct assessment of patient functional performance
patients with dementia, comprising 1 FTLD, 10 AD, 5 VD, 3 alcoholic dementia, 3 D. with Lewy Bodies, 1 corticobasal, and 2 dementias due to severe hypoxia
Pfeffer functional activities questionnaire (PFAQ) Observation of patients during simulated activities included in the PFAQ
Significant differences found between caregiver responses and direct observation of patient performance. Caregivers underestimated functional capacity of patients
Compare functional communication abilities in FTLD and AD patients.
patients with AD and 8 with FTLD
Functional assessment of communication skills (ASHA-FACS)
Functional communication abilities were similar for patients with AD and FTLD. FTLD patients had worse performance on inference comprehension while AD patients had worse performance on basic transactions with money
Examine changes in activities of daily living (ADL), including subcomponents of initiation, planning, or execution of DAD
patients with bvFTDphen, 6 with bvFTD path, 11 with SemDem, and 9 PNFA
Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination-revised (ACE-R) Disability assessment for dementia (DAD)
Pathological bvFTD, SemDem, and PNFA groups showed significant decline in ADLs after 12 months, while the phenocopy subgroup did not Each variant showed different profiles of decline in subcomponents of ADLs
Describe activities of daily living in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, and correlate in caregiver and performance-based assessments
patients with bvFDT
Addenbrooke’s cognitive examination-revised (ACE-R) Disability assessment for dementia (DAD) Frontal systems behavior scale (frontal dysfunction) Assessment of motor and process skills
A model combining the global cognition and frontal dysfunction explained the variance on ADL performance. A qualitative rating distinguished between pathologic and phenocopy patients better than the performance-based assessment
Compare emotion recognition behavior and social functioning in AD and bvFTD patients
, 14 patients with bvFTD and 14 with AD
Emotion hexagon Disability assessment for dementia (DAD) The Cambridge behavioural inventory (CBI)
bvFTD group had worse functional deficit, higher scores on the CBI, and poorer emotion recognition compared with the AD group Recognition of emotions was not correlated with DAD but instead with apathy on the CBI
Develop a novel tool to characterize FTLD severity based on functional disability and behavioral changes. Assess rate of change over time in 3 FTLD variants (bvFTD, SD, and NFPA)
patients, 28 bvFTD, 21 NFPA, 26 SD, and 20 controls
FTLD progression differed among variants bvFTD patients progressed rapidly whereas subjects with SD presented slower evolution FDRS proved a good scale for staging and determining FTLD progression
Relate behavioral, neuropsychological, and sociodemographic factors to determine predictive factors for functional decline in bvFTD
patients with bvFTD
Clinical dementia rating (CDR) Trail making parts A and B Boston naming test Category fluency (sum of animals, vegetables, and fruits) Mini-mental status examination (MMSE) Neuropsychiatric inventory (NPI) Wechsler adults intelligence scale (WAIS-R) Magnetic resonance imaging analysis generating an anatomical subtype
Predominantly frontotemporal and frontal atrophy, worse performance on executive, visuospatial and language functions, loss of inhibition, agitation/aggression and nighttime behaviors, and greater age at disease onset were associated with faster rate of functional decline
Notes. FTLD: frontotemporal lobar degeneration, bvFTD: behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia, NFPA: nonfluent progressive aphasia, SD: semantic dementia, VD: vascular dementia, and AD: dementia of the Alzheimer type.
*Dementias caused by traumatic brain injury or by normal pressure hydrocephalus.