Question

Difficulty: MediumNeurocognitive Disorders

A 58-year-old man is brought to the clinic by his husband due to a 14-month history of progressive behavioral changes. Previously known as a meticulous and empathetic high school teacher, the patient has become increasingly apathetic and frequently makes sexually explicit remarks to neighbors. He recently ate a stranger's sandwich off their plate at a local restaurant and showed no remorse when confronted by the staff. He denies feeling sad or anxious, stating, "Everything is perfectly fine." The patient has a remote history of a single depressive episode in his 20s. He takes over-the-counter diphenhydramine occasionally for sleep but takes no prescription medications. Vital signs are within normal limits. Laboratory studies, including a thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) level of 1.2 mU/L and a free T4 of 1.2 ng/dL (normal: 0.8-1.8 ng/dL), are normal. On mental status examination, he has a blunted affect and poor insight, but no delusions or hallucinations are elicited. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score is 23/30; he loses points primarily on clock drawing and verbal fluency tasks, but successfully recalls 3 out of 3 objects after a 5-minute delay. Neurological examination reveals no focal weakness, rigidity, or resting tremor. Which of the following is the most likely diagnosis?

  1. Frontotemporal neurocognitive disorderAnswer
  2. B
    Schizophrenia
  3. C
    Bipolar I disorder
  4. D
    Anticholinergic delirium
  5. E
    Secondary hypothyroidism

Answer

Frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder
The correct answer is frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder. The behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) typically presents between the ages of 50 and 60. It is characterized by an insidious onset and gradual progression of profound personality changes, social disinhibition (e.g., making sexually explicit remarks to neighbors, stealing food), apathy, and hyperorality (changes in eating behaviors, such as eating off a stranger's plate). On formal cognitive testing, patients demonstrate marked executive dysfunction, often struggling with verbal fluency and clock drawing. Notably, visuospatial skills and memory are relatively preserved in the early stages, distinguishing it from Alzheimer disease. This patient's clinical picture perfectly aligns with bvFTD.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the patient's demographic profile and the timeline of the symptoms.
The patient is a 58-year-old man with a 14-month insidious, progressive history of symptoms, which strongly suggests an early-onset primary neurocognitive disorder rather than an acute process like delirium or a typical psychiatric onset.
Establishing the tempo and age of onset narrows the differential diagnosis between acute, psychiatric, and neurodegenerative etiologies.
2
Evaluate the specific clinical features and mental status examination findings.
The patient exhibits prominent personality changes, disinhibition (inappropriate sexual remarks, stealing food), hyperorality (eating off others' plates), and executive dysfunction (poor clock drawing and verbal fluency), with relatively preserved memory (3/3 recall).
Different neurocognitive disorders have distinct early clinical hallmarks; characterizing the prominent deficits leads to the specific subtype.
3
Synthesize findings to identify the most likely diagnosis.
The combination of early personality changes, disinhibition, hyperorality, and prominent executive dysfunction with spared memory in a patient under 60 is the classic presentation of behavioral variant frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder.
Matching the symptom cluster to diagnostic criteria confirms the underlying etiology.

Key Concept

Recognizing the clinical presentation of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), which is characterized by early personality changes, disinhibition, apathy, and executive dysfunction with relatively preserved memory.
Estimated Time:1m 15s
Rate this question