Charting Frontotemporal Dementia: From Genes to Networks. Issue 1 (29th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Filippi, Massimo; Agosta, Federica; Ferraro, Pilar M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of neuroimaging. Volume 26:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 16
• Page End: 27
• Publication Date: 2015-11-29
• Subjects: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) -- frontotemporal dementia (FTD) -- primary progressive aphasia (PPA) -- structural MRI -- diffusion tensor (DT) MRI -- resting state functional MRI (fMRI) -- brain networks; Diagnostic imaging -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Diseases -- Diagnosis -- Periodicals; Imagerie pour le diagnostic -- Périodiques; Système nerveux -- Maladies -- Diagnostic -- Périodiques; Imagerie médicale; Neuroimagerie; Neurologie; Système nerveux; Périodique électronique (Descripteur de forme); Ressource Internet (Descripteur de forme); 616.804754
• DOI: 10.1111/jon.12316
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1051-2284

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a genetically and clinically heterogeneous syndrome that is characterized by overlapping clinical symptoms involving behavior, personality, language and/or motor functions and degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes. The term frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is used to describe the proteinopathies associated with clinical FTD. Emerging evidence from network‐based neuroimaging studies, such as resting state functional MRI and diffusion tensor MRI studies, have implicated specific large‐scale brain networks in the pathogenesis of FTD syndromes, suggesting a new paradigm for explaining the distributed and heterogeneous spreading patterns of pathological proteins in FTLD. In this review, we overview recent research on the study of FTD syndromes as connectivity disorders in symptomatic patients as well as genotype‐specific changes in asymptomatic FTD‐related gene mutation carriers. Characterizing brain network breakdown in these subjects using neuroimaging may help anticipate the diagnosis and perhaps prevent the devastating impact of FTD.