FRONTAL-LOBE DEMENTIA IS NOT A VARIANT OF PRION DISEASE

Frontal lobe dementia (FLD) is a syndromal diagnosis with a variable p athology. It has been argued that FLD is a dementing disorder which sh ould be nosologically and etiologically distinguished from other types of dementia. However, similarities with prion disease and Alzheimer's disease have led to the suggestion that FLD is a variant of one or ot her of these dementias. We have tested this line of argument by examin ing the frontal cortex and cerebellum of 14 FLD cases and probing the molecular pathology using well characterised antibodies to prion prote in and B-amyloid protein. No prion protein deposits or significant lev els of beta-amyloid protein were detected. FLD is a dementing disorder whose molecular pathology, whilst as yet uncharacterised, can be dist inguished from those of other dementing disorders.