Frontotemporal Degeneration in a Child.

BACKGROUND: There is a predilection for the frontal and temporal lobes in certain cases of dementia in the adult, leading to the syndrome of frontotemporal dementia. However, this syndrome has seemed to elude the developing brain until now.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We describe an example of apparently selective neurodegeneration of the frontal and temporal regions during development associated with some of the clinical, magnetic resonance imaging, and fludeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) scan features of canonical frontotemporal dementia in the adult. This patient does not have any of the common frontotemporal dementia-causing mutations or known progressive brain disorders of children.

CONCLUSION: This patient illustrates that symptomatic, selective, and progressive vulnerability of the frontal and temporal lobes is not restricted to adulthood, expanding the phenotype of frontotemporal degeneration.