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Review
. 2021 Jan 15;6(1):e12085.
doi: 10.1002/trc2.12085. eCollection 2020.

Frontotemporal dementia and COVID-19: Hypothesis generation and roadmap for future research

Kok Pin Ng  1   2   3 , Hui Jin Chiew  1 , Shahul Hameed  1   2   3 , Simon Kang Seng Ting  1   2   3 , Adeline Ng  1   2   3 , See Ann Soo  1 , Benjamin Y X Wong  1 , Levinia Lim  1 , Alisa C W Yong  1 , Vincent C T Mok  4 , Pedro Rosa-Neto  5 , Jacqueline Dominguez  6 , SangYun Kim  7 , G Y Robin Hsiung  8 , Manabu Ikeda  9 , Bruce L Miller  10 , Serge Gauthier  5 , Nagaendran Kandiah  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

Frontotemporal dementia and COVID-19: Hypothesis generation and roadmap for future research

Kok Pin Ng et al. Alzheimers Dement (N Y). .

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused tremendous suffering for patients with dementia and their caregivers. We conducted a survey to study the impact of the pandemic on patients with mild frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Our preliminary findings demonstrate that patients with FTD have significant worsening in behavior and social cognition, as well as suffer greater negative consequences from disruption to health-care services compared to patients with AD. The reduced ability to cope with sudden changes to social environments places patients with FTD at increased vulnerability to COVID-19 infection as well as to poorer clinical and social outcomes. Caregivers of FTD patients also demonstrate high burden during crisis situations. A proportion of patients with FTD benefitted from use of web-based interactive platforms. In this article, we outline the priority areas for research as well as a roadmap for future collaborative research to ensure greatest benefit for patients with FTD and their caregivers.

Keywords: COVID‐19; frontotemporal dementia; research roadmap.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Response of FTD and AD patients to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Percentages of patients who answered yes to questions related to the categories of impaired behavior, executive dysfunction, and impaired social cognition. AD, Alzheimer's disease; FTD, frontotemporal dementia
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on patients and caregivers. Percentages of patients/caregivers who answered yes to questions related to the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on their daily lives. AD, Alzheimer's disease; FTD, frontotemporal dementia
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Roadmap toward multidisciplinary research on the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on frontotemporal dementia. A roadmap describing future research strategies toward closer collaboration among clinicians worldwide as well as among clinicians, scientists, and public health authorities to better help patients with FTD and their caregivers cope with a crisis such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging; FTD, frontotemporal dementia; FTLD, frontotemporal lobar degeneration; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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