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Andrea Slachevsky, MD, PhD; Juan Manuel Villalpando, MD; Marie Sarazin, MD; Valerie Hahn-Barma, MSc; Bernard Pillon, PhD; Bruno Dubois, MD

Arch Neurol. 2004;61:1104-1107.

Background  The different distribution of pathologic features in frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Alzheimer disease (AD) predicts a predominant dysexecutive syndrome in FTD. The Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) has previously been validated in diseases associated with a frontal lobe dysfunction.

Objective  To evaluate the sensitivity of the FAB to differentiate FTD and AD.

Design  Comparison study.

Setting  Memory Clinic of the Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France.

Patients  Twenty-six patients with FTD and 64 patients with AD.

Main Outcome Measures  Comparison of FAB and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores between patients with FTD and those with AD.

Results  The mean ± SD FAB scores significantly differed between patients with FTD (7.6 ± 4.2) and those with AD (12.6 ± 3.7) (P<.001), but not MMSE scores. The FAB correctly identified 78.9% of the patients. These results were maintained in a subgroup of mildly demented patients (MMSE score, 24). In these patients, a cutoff score of 12 on the FAB was optimal to differentiate both disorders (sensitivity, 77%; specificity, 87%).

Conclusions  The FAB takes less than 10 minutes to administer and provides an objective measure to distinguish FTD from AD in mildly demented patients.

From Institut National de la Santé et de la Récherche Médicale E 007 and Fédération de Neurologie, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière Paris, France (Drs Slachevsky,Villalpando, Sarazin, Pillon, and Dubois and Ms Hahn-Barma); and Unidad de Neurologia Cognitiva y Demencias, Servicio de Neurologia, Hospital del Salvador, Santiago, Chile (Dr Slachevsky).

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