Frontotemporal dementia: A form of dementia characterized by pathologic finding of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, presenile dementia with behavioral changes, deterioration of cognitive capacities and loss of memory. In some cases, parkinsonian symptoms are prominent. Neuropathological changes include frontotemporal atrophy often associated with atrophy of the basal ganglia, substantia nigra, amygdala. In most cases, protein tau deposits are found in glial cells and/or neurons.
Pick disease of the brain: A rare form of dementia pathologically defined by severe atrophy, neuronal loss and gliosis. It is characterized by the occurrence of tau-positive inclusions, swollen neurons (Pick cells) and argentophilic neuronal inclusions known as Pick bodies that disproportionally affect the frontal and temporal cortical regions. Clinical features include aphasia, apraxia, confusion, anomia, memory loss and personality deterioration.
Progressive supranuclear palsy 1: Characterized by akinetic-rigid syndrome, supranuclear gaze palsy, pyramidal tract dysfunction, pseudobulbar signs and cognitive capacities deterioration. Neurofibrillary tangles and gliosis but no amyloid plaques are found in diseased brains. Most cases appear to be sporadic, with a significant association with a common haplotype including the MAPT gene and the flanking regions. Familial cases show an autosomal dominant pattern of transmission with incomplete penetrance; genetic analysis of a few cases showed the occurrence of tau mutations, including a deletion of Asn-613.
Parkinson-dementia syndrome: A syndrome characterized by parkinsonism, tremor, rigidity, dementia, ophthalmoparesis and pyramidal signs. Neurofibrillary degeneration occurs in the hippocampus, basal ganglia and brainstem nuclei.