Obsessive Compulsive Symptom Profile in patients with Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia

GUIDO CASTAGNOLA; MARÍA ÁNGELES POSE; TERESA TORRALVA; MARCELO CETKOVICH; MARÍA GONZALEZ TOLEDO; FACUNDO MANES

Toronto

Exposici�n; 62nd AAN 2010 Annual Meeting; 2010

American Academy of Neurology

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the profile of obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) in patients diagnosed with behavioral variant Frontotemporal Dementia (bvFTD). BACKGROUND: OCS and stereotyped behavior are amongst the common characteristics of bvFTD. Analyzing the frequency and type of the OCS in this group of patients may reveal fundamental aspects of the way psychiatric symptoms express and progress in a degenerative disease. DESIGN/METHODS: A group of patients with diagnosis of bvFTD (n = 21) was assessed with the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS). RESULTS: More than 90% of the patients exhibited at least one OCS. Fifteen (71.4%) presented both obsessive and compulsive symptoms, three (14.3%) presented obsessive symptoms exclusively, one patient (4.7%) presented only compulsive symptoms, and only two patients (9.5%) presented neither with obsessive nor compulsive symptoms. The most frequent obsessions included hoarding, which was present in eight patients (38%) and somatic obsessions, present in seven patients (33.3%). The most frequent compulsions included hoarding, checking, and washing, which were present in six patients each (25.5%). The only obsession or compulsion not exhibited by any of the patients was counting. CONCLUSIONS/RELEVANCE: Frontal lobe degeneration may account for a wide array of obsessive compulsive symptoms. Being able to characterize the symptomatic profile of bvFTD patients may enhance early diagnosis and treatment.