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SESSION 8B COGNITIVE & PSYCHOLOGICAL CHANGE

Background: The prevalence of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in the ALS population is estimated to be between 30 to 50 percent. FTD is recognized to present as three distinct subtypes, including isolated behavioural change, a frontal cortical associated aphasia of a progressive non-fluent type and a temporal cortical associated aphasia of a fluent type characterized by loss of semantic knowledge. Given the aggressive course of the disease process, we wanted to identify ALS patients whose emerging FTD was rendering them less capable of independent decision-making. We developed an evaluation approach that included a behavioural inventory as well as screening measures of language change characteristic of either frontal dysfunction (FD) or temporal dysfunction (TD).