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ToolsAhmed, Rebekah M., Kaizik, Cassandra, Irish, Muireann, Mioshi, Eneida, Dermody, Nadene, Kiernan, Matthew C., Piguet, Olivier and Hodges, John R. (2015) Characterizing sexual behavior in frontotemporal dementia. Journal of Alzheimers Disease, 46 (3). pp. 677-686. ISSN 1387-2877
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Abstract
Background: Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterized by a number of prominent behavioral changes. While FTD has been associated with the presence of aberrant or unusual sexual behaviors in a proportion of patients, few studies have formally investigated changes in sexual function in this disease. Objective: We aimed to systematically quantify changes in sexual behavior, including current symptoms and changes from prior diagnoses, in behavioral-variant (bvFTD) and semantic dementia (SD), compared to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: Carers of 49 dementia patients (21 bvFTD, 11 SD, 17 AD) were interviewed using the Sexual Behavior and Intimacy Questionnaire (SIQ), a survey designed to assess changes in sexual function across multiple domains including initiating, level of affection, and aberrant or unusual sexual behavior. Results: BvFTD patients show prominent hyposexual behavior including decreased affection, initiation, and response to advances by partners, and decreased frequency of sexual relations, compared to AD and to SD patients. The greatest changes in sexual behavior compared to pre-diagnoses were found in the bvFTD group with a 90–100% decrease in initiation, response, and frequency of sexual relations. Notably, aberrant or unusual sexual behavior was reported in a minority of bvFTD and SD patients and occurred in patients who also showed hyposexual behavior toward their partner. Conclusion: Overall loss of affection, reduced initiation of sexual activity, and responsiveness is an overwhelming feature of bvFTD. In contrast, aberrant or unusual sexual behavior is observed in the minority of bvFTD patients. The underlying pathophysiology of these changes likely reflects structural and functional changes in frontoinsular and limbic regions including the hypothalamus.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | alzheimer’s disease,frontotemporal dementia,sexual function |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Dementia & Complexity in Later Life Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | Pure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2016 14:05 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Nov 2024 00:42 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/57084 |
| DOI: | 10.3233/JAD-150034 |
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