What kind of stages can I expect with frontemporal atrophy dementia?
A fellow caregiver asked...
My husband has frontemporal atrophy and has becom total immobile. What should I expect? He was diagnosed with this when was no longer able to walk. I only want some answers, do they have stages in this dementia? HE IS 78 AND i AM 66.
Expert Answer
Ladislav Volicer, M.D., Ph.D., is recognized as an international expert on advanced dementia care. He is a courtesy full professor at the School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, and visiting professor at the Third Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Twenty-five years ago, he established one of the first dementia special care units.
Dementia progression can be divided into four stages: Mild, moderate, severe and terminal. Although the early symptoms may differ in Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia, the progression is similar. Once the person cannot walk even with assistance and cannot communicate, he can be considered to be in the terminal stage of the illness.