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.

This disorder 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 the in 50% of the cases.

With the passage of time, the patients may appear to be having problems in almost all areas of mental function. They often suffer from a sudden alteration in personality, change in normal behavior, and 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 cerebrovascular disease, that leads to a progressive decline in memory and cognitive functioning.

It is necessary to distinguish between the symptoms of both the diseases. The dementia in question 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.

• Diabetes: Diabetes may increase the risk of this disease, and the chances are relatively more if the onset of diabetes occurs during middle age.

• Smoking: Smoking, for all reasons is injurious to health and is a potential cause for this disorder, besides lung cancer and throat cancer.
• 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 narrowed arteries and blockages, which cause this particular dementia as well as heart diseases.
• High blood pressure (hypertension): Sometimes, high blood pressure also causes disturbance in the mental balance, resulting in the symptoms of this disease.

Following are the symptoms generally seen in people:

• 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.

There are various techniques available to diagnose this condition, such as Electroencephalogram (EEG), brain scans, and neuropsychological tests.

These tests are necessary to confirm if the symptoms shown by the patient indicate this particular disease, or some other disorder like vascular dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Frontal lobe dementia cannot be cured. Its symptoms can be managed through behavior therapy and medication.

Disclaimer: This story is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.