Unravelling the mysteries of frontotemporal dementia.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a clinical term that encompasses the neurodegenerative diseases that selectively affect the frontal and anterior temporal lobes of the brain. FTD, which is underdiagnosed in clinical settings, presents with behavioral changes or deficits in language. The last two decades have seen tremendous advances in the appreciation of the clinical assessment, genetics, and molecular pathology of this group of enigmatic diseases, thus offering hope for the development of rational therapeutic strategies.