Alzheimer’s is a commonly heard of form of dementia. Yet other lesser known forms of dementia are out there. And they are tearing apart millions of lives. Frontotemporal dementia is one of these devastating forms of dementia. Mental illness is a common misdiagnosis when it comes to Frontotemporal dementia. Consequently, this leads to the average time to diagnosis being about three years. It mainly affects people under 60 and is always fatal.

As you can guess, this CBS News article explains Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) attacks the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes. These are responsible for personality and speech. Dr. Bruce Miller is a leading expert on FTD. He is performing cutting edge research on two variants of the disease. The speech variant is one form. And the behavioral variant is the other, which attacks personality, judgement, and empathy.

Affected individuals display bizarre behaviors that are very unlike themselves. Furthermore, there have even been some criminal behavior reports in people with FTD. Families and friends usually hardly recognize their loved ones. But equally as devastating, patients lose their ability to recognize themselves.

For example, Tracey Lind is affected by the speech variant. She recalls looking into a public bathroom mirror one day. Tracey states, “I looked in the mirror, and I kept looking, and I remember I kept looking at the woman wondering ‘who was she?'”. She was 61 at the time her symptoms began.

Dr. Miller explains FTD can rob those affected of their very essence of humanity. FTD takes away their sense of who they are. There are currently no treatments to delay the progression of FTD. But there are clinical trials. The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration can provide more resources and information regarding care and prognosis. However, like all diseases, every affected individual is different.