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Differentiating frontal and temporal variant frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease
Perry RJ, Hodges JR.. Neurology, 2000-06-01
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective/background To determine whether difficulty in the early differentiation between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and AD may arise from a failure to discriminate between the temporal and frontal variants of FTD. Methods Neuropsychological profiles of patients with early dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT; n = 10), the temporal variant of FTD (tv-FTD or semantic dementia; n = 5), and the frontal variant of FTD (fv-FTD; n = 10) were compared to each other and normal controls (n = 10). Structural MRI demonstrated temporal lobe atrophy in the tv-FTD patients and frontal lobe atrophy in the fv-FTD group. Results Subjects with tv-FTD showed severe deficits in semantic memory with preservation of attention and executive function. Subjects with fv-FTD showed the reverse pattern. Attention and executive function impairment separated the fv-FTD patients from the early DAT subjects, who were densely amnesic. Conclusion The double dissociation in performance on semantic memory and attention/executive function clearly separated the temporal and frontal variants of FTD and aids the early differentiation of FTD from AD. The characteristic cognitive profiles reflect the distribution of pathology within each syndrome and support the putative role of the inferolateral temporal neocortex in semantic memory, the medial temporal lobe structures of the hippocampal complex in episodic memory, and the frontal lobes in executive function.
Key findings
- Methods Neuropsychological profiles of patients with early dementia of Alzheimer type (DAT; n = 10), the temporal variant of FTD (tv-FTD or semantic dementia; n = 5), and the frontal variant of FTD (fv-FTD; n = 10) were compared to each other and normal controls (n = 10).
- Structural MRI demonstrated temporal lobe atrophy in the tv-FTD patients and frontal lobe atrophy in the fv-FTD group.
- Results Subjects with tv-FTD showed severe deficits in semantic memory with preservation of attention and executive function.
Why it matters
This small comparison of patients with early Alzheimer-type dementia and two variants of frontotemporal dementia found distinct patterns of thinking problems that helped tell the conditions apart. It is about diagnosis, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 52/100
Published in a leading specialty journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neurology: journal h-index 525 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2000 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (pubmed indexes it as a clinical or observational study) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 286 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 10.2 citations a year over 28 year(s) since 2000 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 9.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 3 / 6 | Cited by 25 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 19 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author J. R. Hodges: h-index 49 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Cambridge: institution h-index 1,973 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 10881252) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 52 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
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Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Perry, R. J., & Hodges, JR. (2000). Differentiating frontal and temporal variant frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.12.2277
Vancouver
Perry RJ, Hodges JR. Differentiating frontal and temporal variant frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease. Neurology. 2000. doi:10.1212/wnl.54.12.2277. PMID: 10881252.
BibTeX
@article{perry2000-10881252,
author = {Perry, R. J. and Hodges, JR.},
title = {{Differentiating frontal and temporal variant frontotemporal dementia from Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Neurology},
year = {2000},
doi = {10.1212/wnl.54.12.2277},
pmid = {10881252},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1212/wnl.54.12.2277}
}
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