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Fronto-temporal dementia
Ganesh was a 55 year old accountant. His wife began noticing that he was suddenly becoming disinhibited, he was behaving inappropriately in social situations and was unable to complete his occupational responsibilities. His speech was also slowly becoming difficult to understand. His doctor prescribed an MRI which showed atrophy in the frontal lobe of the brain.
Often considered the third most common form of dementing illness. They are characterized by a significant change in personality and behavior prior to the onset of cognitive decline. This is because, in FTD, degeneration begins at the frontal and temporal lobes of the cortex ( these areas are responsible for civil behavior and the inhibition of impulses). This means that in FTD, behavioral and personality changes precede memory problems. They also typically occur at an earlier earlier than Alzheimer’s dementia.
Dementia with lewy bodies (DLB)
Shyam was a 60 year old farmer, over the past 6 to 8 months he has been noticed to be claiming that there are several robbers who keep following him everywhere he goes. He has fallen multiple times in the past month when he wakes up to go to the loo at night. He has been noticed to be confused and unable to quote the day or date. He was seen by doctor, who did a SPECT scan to diagnose lewy body dementia.
Lewy body dementia (LBD) is a type of progressive dementia that leads to a decline in thinking, reasoning and independent function because of abnormal microscopic deposits that damage brain cells over time. In addition to the cognitive decline that is common to dementia, DLB presents with symptoms of parkinson’s disease (slowness, trembling), frequent falls and visual hallucinations (being able to see things that aren’t real).