A Case of a Male Patient with Frontotemporal Dementia with Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms Responding to a Low Dose of Escitalopram

Abstract Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common type of early-onset dementia. It is characterized by insidious onset and gradual progression, early decline in social interpersonal conduct and regulation of personal conduct, early emotional blunting and loss of insight. Behavioral disorder, speech and language are supportive features in FTD. Here, we present a case of a patient with FTD with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) responding to escitalopram treatment.Case presentation: A 60-year-old Japanese man had been treated for early-onset Alzheimer-type dementia with galantamine (24 mg/day) for 5 years. He developed behavioral, executive and semantic deficits. He had stereotypical, compulsive behavior, eating habit changes, disinhibition, excitement, irritability and anxiety. His diagnosis changed to FTD based on clinical features and MRI and SPECT. Galantamine was tapered off, and escitalopram 5 mg/day was started and increased to 10 mg/day. The symptoms of FTD, including behavioral and psychological symptoms, were decreased.Conclusion: This case is the first report demonstrating that escitalopram might be effective for BPSD that accompany FTD.