Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jul;24(6):593-605.
doi: 10.1017/S1355617718000115. Epub 2018 Mar 19.

Meta-analytic Review of Memory Impairment in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Jackie M Poos  1 , Lize C Jiskoot  1   2 , Janne M Papma  1 , John C van Swieten  1   3 , Esther van den Berg  1
Affiliations
Review

Meta-analytic Review of Memory Impairment in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

Jackie M Poos et al. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2018 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: A meta-analysis of the extent, nature and pattern of memory performance in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). Multiple observational studies have challenged the relative sparing of memory in bvFTD as stated in the current diagnostic criteria.

Methods: We performed a meta-analytic review covering the period 1967 to February 2017 of case-control studies on episodic memory in bvFTD versus control participants (16 studies, 383 patients, 603 control participants), and patients with bvFTD versus those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (20 studies, 452 bvFTD, 874 AD). Differences between both verbal and non-verbal working memory, episodic memory learning and recall, and recognition memory were examined. Data were extracted from the papers and combined into a common metric measure of effect, Hedges' d.

Results: Patients with bvFTD show large deficits in memory performance compared to controls (Hedges' d -1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI] [-1.23, -0.95]), but perform significantly better than patients with AD (Hedges' d 0.85; 95% CI [0.69, 1.03]). Learning and recall tests differentiate best between patients with bvFTD and AD (p<.01). There is 37-62% overlap in test scores between the two groups.

Conclusions: This study points to memory disorders in patients with bvFTD, with performance at an intermediate level between controls and patients with AD. This indicates that, instead of being an exclusion criterion for bvFTD diagnosis, memory deficits should be regarded as a potential integral part of the clinical spectrum. (JINS, 2018, 24, 593-605).

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Episodic memory; Learning; Recall; bvFTD; Meta-analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flow chart illustrating the process of inclusion of eligible studies and reasons for exclusion.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Forest plot illustrating effect sizes and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals for each study comparing bvFTD patients to control participants on overall memory performance. Negative values indicate worse performance for bvFTD patients than for controls.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Forest plot illustrating effect sizes and bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals for each study comparing bvFTD patients to AD patients on overall memory performance. Positive values indicate better performance for the bvFTD patients than the AD patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Balconi M., Cotelli M., Brambilla M., Manenti R., Cosseddu M., Premi E., & . . . Borroni B. (2015). Understanding emotions in frontotemporal dementia: The explicit and implicit emotional cue mismatch. Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, 46, 211–225. - PubMed
    1. Barnes J., Whitwell J.L., Frost C., Josephs K.A., Rossor M., & Fox N.C. (2006). Measurements of the amygdala and hippocampus in pathologically confirmed Alzheimer disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Archives of Neurology, 63, 1434–1439. - PubMed
    1. Barsuglia J.P., Kaiser N.C., Schantz Wilkins S., Joshi A., Barrows R.J., Paholpak P., & Mendez M.F. (2014). A scale of socioemotional dysfunction in frontotemporal dementia. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 29, 793–805. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ber I., Camuzat A., Hannequin D., Pasquier F., Guedj E., & Rovelet-Lecrux A., . . . and the French research network on FTD-FTD-MND. (2008). Phenotype variability in progranulin mutation carriers: A clinical, neuropsychological, imaging and genetic study. Brain, 131, 732–746. - PubMed
    1. Bertoux M., de Souza L.C., Corlier F., Lamari F., Bottlaender M., Dubois B., && Sarazin M. (2014). Two distinct amnesic profiles in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. Society of Biological Psychiatry, 7, 582–588. - PubMed

MeSH terms