FTD

Medical abbreviation · Neurology

FTD
Stands forFrontotemporal dementia
CategoriesMedical

FTD stands for Frontotemporal dementia, a neurology abbreviation.

Group of dementias caused by degeneration of the frontal and temporal lobes, typically starting between ages 45 and 65 with changes in personality, behavior, judgment or language rather than memory. It is a leading cause of dementia in people under 60.

Example: Disinhibition, apathy and new compulsive eating at age 54 with frontal atrophy on MRI: behavioral variant FTD.

Usage notes

Main forms are behavioral variant FTD and primary progressive aphasia; overlap with ALS occurs, particularly with C9orf72 gene variants. Up to about a third of cases run in families. Pick's disease, named for Arnold Pick, is an older term for one pathological type. Actor Bruce Willis's family announced his FTD diagnosis in 2023, increasing public awareness.

More neurology abbreviations

  • ESUS – Embolic stroke of undetermined source
  • ET – Essential tremor
  • ETV – Endoscopic third ventriculostomy
  • EVD – External ventricular drain
  • EVT – Endovascular thrombectomy
  • FAST – Face, Arm, Speech, Time
  • GBS – Guillain-Barré syndrome
  • GTC – Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
  • HA – Headache
  • HD – Huntington's disease
  • HIE – Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
  • HINTS – Head Impulse, Nystagmus, Test of Skew

See all 131 neurology abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.

This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.