Grant: Project Grant

There have been three major genes discovered that cause familial forms of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a devastating group of disorders associated with personality and behavioural changes and/or language difficulties in those suffering. These cognitive and behavioural deficits prevent affected individuals from being able to function in society. Specifically, they are no longer able to work, communicate and may get into trouble with the law as a result of their aberrant behaviours. The impact to individuals and their families is huge because FTD affects those in the prime of their lives, often between the ages of 45 to 55. The gene abnormality predicts that an individual who harbours it will be at high risk of developing symptoms, but does not predict when this will occur and what clinical features they will have. Therefore, it is critical that research studies concentrate on developing powerful biomarkers of FTD that can identify the earliest stages of disease before symptoms develop and that can be used to monitor disease progression in those already affected. We will use brain imaging, genetics, and epigenetics to identify signatures of the FTD disease process and modifiers of FTD course. The development of such biomarkers will substantially aid in the design of novel clinical trials of new drugs. It is hoped that novel drugs being developed can be used to eventually prevent the disease from starting in those at risk and modify the course in those already affected.