Dementia of frontal lobe type due to adult polyglucosan body disease

Abstract

We describe a patient with adult polyglucosan body disease (APBD) who presented with a dementia of frontal lobe type (FLD), with a neurogenic bladder but no symptoms of sensory motor peripheral neuropathy. Diagnosis was made from a cerebral biopsy specimen which showed an accumulation of intra-axonal polyglucosan bodies in the central nervous system. This case differs from the usual presentation, in which gait disturbance is the main symptom and diagnosis is possible by sural nerve biopsy. Little is known about the neuropsychological pattern of APBD dementia but FLD has not previously been described. APBD is a heterogeneous clinical entity of unknown cause. This diagnosis must be considered in elderly patients with dementia.