Late-onset behavioral variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration versus Alzheimer's disease: Interest of cerebrospinal fluid biomarker ratios

Abstract

Introduction: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarker ratios were never evaluated in late-onset (>65 years) behavioral variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (bvFTLD) versus Alzheimer's disease (AD). Methods: A retrospective monocentric study on 44 clinically suspected amnestic AD or bvFTLD patients with onset after 65 years and available CSF and clinical data. Results: The final clinical diagnosis was AD (n = 28; 64%), late-onset bvFTLD (n = 14; 32%), and others (n = 2; 4%). Applying the CSF cutoff total-tau/Aβ 1-42 of 1.06, all the bvFTLD were in the FTLD range (<1.06, bvFTLD/FTLD), whereas the AD patients were either in the AD (>1.06, AD/AD) or in the FTLD range (<1.06, AD/FTLD); CSF biomarkers were significantly different in these three groups, but not neuroradiological features or presence of episodic memory deficit. Discussion: Late-onset bvFTLD is underdiagnosed. The available CSF biomarker ratio cutoff need further improvement and overestimated late-onset bvFTLD but could potentially differentiate it from AD, notably in case of conflicting results.