Language in Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia: Another Stone to Be Turned in Latin America.

Amandine Geraudie,Mariano Díaz Rivera,Maxime Montembeault,Adolfo M García

doi:10.3389/fneur.2021.702770

Abstract

Beyond canonical deficits in social cognition and interpersonal conduct, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) involves language difficulties in a substantial proportion of cases. However, since most evidence comes from high-income countries, the scope and relevance of language deficits in Latin American bvFTD samples remain poorly understood. As a first step toward reversing this scenario, we review studies reporting language measures in Latin American bvFTD cohorts relative to other groups. We identified 24 papers meeting systematic criteria, mainly targeting phonemic and semantic fluency, naming, semantic processing, and comprehension skills. The evidence shows widespread impairments in these domains, often related to overall cognitive disturbances. Some of these deficits may be as severe as in other diseases where they are more widely acknowledged, such as Alzheimer's disease. Considering the prevalence and informativeness of language deficits in bvFTD patients from other world regions, the need arises for more systematic research in Latin America, ideally spanning multiple domains, in diverse languages and dialects, with validated batteries. We outline key challenges and pathways of progress in this direction, laying the ground for a new regional research agenda on the disorder.

Highlights

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia is the most frequent form of frontotemporal dementia, a disease that affects between 1.2 and 1.8% of Latin American residents above age 55 [1]
LA behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) cohorts exhibit systematic deficits in phonemic and semantic fluency. This impairment is consistent across education levels, age ranges, and in the two languages most widely spoken by Latin Americans: Spanish and Portuguese [31]
This is unfortunate for underserved regions, such as Latin America, given that language assessments in bvFTD may be sensitive, discriminative, less costly, and more scalable than other diagnostic and monitoring methods

Summary

Introduction

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is the most frequent form of frontotemporal dementia, a disease that affects between 1.2 and 1.8% of Latin American residents above age 55 [1]. Patients exhibit insidious changes in personality and behavior, typically manifested as disinhibition, compulsion, apathy, hyperorality, and loss of empathy, alongside executive deficits and spared memory and visuospatial skills [2, 3]. These domains have been the focus of neurocognitive studies on the disease, producing rich theoretical and clinical insights [4, 5]. Research on these predominant alterations has progressed to the detriment of less salient but still pervasive and debilitating impairments.

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