The nature and prevalence of misdemeanor ( misdemeanor in general and especially traffic offenses) in patients with dementia due to frontotemporal lobar degeneration has been described in a few case reports and in two small U.S. studies. Our clinical impression suggests that antisocial and aggressive behaviour are relatively frequent in this patient population. The objective of the present study was to verify this observation. For this purpose we developed a standardized questionnaire on misdemeanor in Frontotemporal Dementia. Using this instrument caregivers of 28 patients with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD), 11 patients with Semantic dementia (SD) and 33 patients with Alzheimer-type dementia (AD) were interviewed. The interview included questions about theft, burglary, damaging other peoples' belongings, verbal or physical offence, bodily harm, drug abuse and use of weapons. Questions about the frequency of criminal behaviour, the amount of damages and consequences if applicable completed the questionnaire. Misdemeanor was found in half of the patients with FTD (15 out of 28) and in 7 out of 11 patients with SD, but only in one out of 33 patients with AD.
Concerning traffic offenses the study showed also differences: 90% of the patients with FTD (18 out of 20) and SD (9 out of 10) and only 58% of the patients with AD (15 out of 26) participating in our study and having a driver´s licence showed alterations in their traffic skills.
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