Dif­ferential Dia­gnosis of Tauopathies –  a Clinical Approach


Authors: R. Rusina 1,2;  R. Matěj 3,4;  E. Růžička 1;  J. Roth 1
Authors‘ workplace: Neurologická klinika a Centrum klinických neurověd, 1. LF UK a VFN v Praze 1;  Neurologické oddělení, Thomayerova nemocnice, Praha 2;  Oddělení patologie a molekulární medicíny, Thomayerova nemocnice, Praha 3;  Ústav patologie, 3. LF UK v Praze 4
Published in: Cesk Slov Neurol N 2015; 78/111(5): 526-534
Category: Review Article
doi: https://doi.org/10.14735/amcsnn2015526

Overview

Tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by accumulation of abnormally modified forms of the tau-protein, predominantly in frontal, temporal and parietal cortical regions, basal ganglia and in the midbrain. Tauopathies are well defined from the molecular biological and biochemical point of view; clinical symptoms may be, however, heterogeneous. Common signs of frontotemporal lobar degenerations include a more or less prominent syndrome of frontotemporal dementia. On the other hand, the clinical picture of frontotemporal dementia may not be caused by a tauopathy only; in many cases the underlying etiopathogenic cause is different. The aim of our review is to classify the relationship between tauopathies and frontotemporal lobar degenerations. This review contains a proposal of a practical approach to refining clinical diagnosis of the different tauopathies.

Key words:
neurodegeneration – tauopathy – frontotemporal lobar degeneration –progressive supranuclear palsy – progressive aphasia – corticobasal syndrome

The authors declare they have no potential conflicts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.

The Editorial Board declares that the manu­script met the ICMJE “uniform requirements” for biomedical papers.


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