Two recent studies by the University of Eastern Finland suggest that educational background and prior traumatic brain injury may potentially influence the risk of frontotemporal dementia. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is one of the most common causes of dementia in people of working age. Depending on the subtype, FTD spectrum disorders have major effects on behavior, language function, and cognitive processing. Many genetic mutations are thought to be responsible for these diseases, but their non-inherited and thus potentially preventable risk factors remain unknown and largely unstudied.
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Eastern Finland, patients with frontotemporal dementia had a lower average level of education than Al Alzheimer’s disease patients. In addition, FTD patients without the disease-causing gene mutation were less educated and more likely to have heart disease than those with FTD who carried the mutation. The researchers used extensive data from more than 1,000 patients, including those from Finland and Italy, covering all of the most common subtypes of FTD. In addition to patients with FTD and Alzheimer’s disease, the study also included degenerative disease. The results were reported in Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
. Based on this study, it appears that patients with different FTD spectrum subtypes, and those with genetic and nongenetic disorders, differ in several risk factors.
A second study suggests that prior traumatic brain injury may increase the risk of FTD, especially in those without in patients with causal gene mutations. In addition, patients with head injuries developed FTD earlier than others, on average. The researchers compared Finnish FTD patients with Alzheimer’s disease patients and healthy controls. The findings were published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease .
“These results provide a better understanding of disease mechanisms and may in the future provide insights into the prevention of frontotemporal dementia.” opportunity,” says PhD researcher and lead author of both articles Helmi Soppela of the University of Eastern Finland. More information:
Helmi Soppela et al., Traumatic Brain Injury Associated with Early Onset of Sporadic Frontotemporal Dementia, Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (2022). DOI: 10.3233/JAD-220545
Helmi Soppela et al, Modifiable Potential for Familial and Sporadic Frontotemporal Dementia Risk Factors, Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology
(2022). DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51619
Citation: Educational background and prior brain injury may be associated with higher risk of frontotemporal dementia (2022, November 25), retrieved December 10, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-11-background-previous-brain-injury-higher.html
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