Distinctive Progression Patterns of Brain Structural Damage Aid Classification of Frontotemporal Dementia Variants

Reviewed as evidence on: Late-life depression and neurodegenerative brain disease 4 studies (what the news said). Being listed means the study bears on the question, not that it agrees with the news.

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

At baseline, sbvFTD showed right-predominant temporal pole involvement associated with significant right frontal atrophy. Longitudinally, bvFTD showed widespread bilateral cortical and basal ganglia damage, svPPA demonstrated steady temporal lobe progression, and sbvFTD progressed primarily in left temporal and frontal regions with limited right hemisphere involvement. Baseline cortical thickness of frontal regions predicted subsequent functional decline in bvFTD and sbvFTD. A multiclass SVM model provided a good diagnostic classification accuracy, with similar results when using baseline data only (82%) and adding longitudinal data (83%). This study delineates the unique structural MRI features and progression of FTD variants, highlighting sbvFTD as a distinct entity with early extra-temporal involvement. These findings support the development of diagnostic and prognostic tools leveraging neuroimaging biomarkers.

Key findings

• At baseline, sbvFTD showed right-predominant temporal pole involvement associated with significant right frontal atrophy.
• Longitudinally, bvFTD showed widespread bilateral cortical and basal ganglia damage, svPPA demonstrated steady temporal lobe progression, and sbvFTD progressed primarily in left temporal and frontal regions with limited right hemisphere involvement.
• Baseline cortical thickness of frontal regions predicted subsequent functional decline in bvFTD and sbvFTD.
• A multiclass SVM model provided a good diagnostic classification accuracy, with similar results when using baseline data only (82%) and adding longitudinal data (83%).
• This study delineates the unique structural MRI features and progression of FTD variants, highlighting sbvFTD as a distinct entity with early extra-temporal involvement.

Why it matters

This longitudinal imaging study described distinct patterns of brain structural damage and progression across frontotemporal dementia variants, and a machine-learning model classified variants with about 82-83% accuracy. These findings support diagnostic and prognostic tools but do not test any treatment, cure or prevention.

Study details

• Study designlongitudinal study
• Evidence strengthModerate

Read the original

• DOI: 10.1111/ene.70275
• PubMed: 40919900
• Original source →
• Free full text: European Journal of Neurology →

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

@article{spinelli2025-40919900,
  author  = {Spinelli, Edoardo Gioele and Orlandi, Francesca and Basaia, Silvia and Costa, Francesco and Pisano, Stefano and Ghirelli, Alma and Canu, Elisa and Castelnovo, Veronica and others},
  title   = {{Distinctive Progression Patterns of Brain Structural Damage Aid Classification of Frontotemporal Dementia Variants}},
  journal = {European Journal of Neurology},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1111/ene.70275},
  pmid    = {40919900},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/ene.70275}
}

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

• Sensitivity of revised diagnostic criteria for the behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia Brain : a journal of neurology · 2011-08-02 · usefulness score 65/100 · Getting a diagnosis
• Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants Neurology · 2011-02-16 · usefulness score 64/100 · Getting a diagnosis
• Frontal paralimbic network atrophy in very mild behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia Archives of neurology · 2008-02-01 · usefulness score 63/100 · How common it is
• Typical and atypical pathology in primary progressive aphasia variants Annals of neurology · 2017-03-20 · usefulness score 62/100 · Lewy body dementia
• Clinical and neuroanatomical signatures of tissue pathology in frontotemporal lobar degeneration Brain : a journal of neurology · 2011-09-01 · usefulness score 57/100 · Brain tissue and pathology
• Machine learning based hierarchical classification of frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease NeuroImage. Clinical · 2019-04-03 · usefulness score 56/100 · Digital health tools
• Cerebellar dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia: intra-cerebellar pathology and cerebellar network degeneration Journal of Neurology · 2025-03-25 · usefulness score 45/100 · Lewy body dementia

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• EEG-based classification of alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia using functional connectivity Scientific Reports · 2026-01-09 · usefulness score 52/100
• Structural and functional connectivity in tau mutation carriers: from presymptomatic to symptomatic frontotemporal dementia Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2025-07-01 · usefulness score 44/100
• Structural and functional insights into the selective inhibition of mutant tau aggregation by purpurin and oleocanthal in frontotemporal dementia Protein Science · 2025-08-27 · usefulness score 37/100
• Frequency-Resolved Connectivity Graphs for EEG-Based Classification of Alzheimer and Frontotemporal Dementia bioRxiv · 2026-10-22 · usefulness score 16/100

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• Behavioural-variant frontotemporal dementia: diagnosis, clinical staging, and management 2011 · Getting a diagnosis
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