Frontotemporal dementia: clinical approach.

Although the existence of atrophy of the anterior part of the brain has bee n known for a long time (Pick, 1892), the interest for frontotemporal demen tias (DFT) is relatively recent. Several excellent reviews have been recent ly published on the topic (Gustafson, 1993; Neary and Snowden, 1996; Pasqui er et al., 1998) and, for that reason, we only recall the main aspects of t he disease to insist on some lesser known features, illustrated by original observations.