Semantic dementia: a complex and culturally influenced presentation.

SUMMARY: The variants of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) require careful differentiation from primary psychiatric disorders as the neuropsychiatric manifestations can overshadow the unique cognitive deficits. The language variants of FTD are less readily recognised by trainees despite making up around 43% of cases. This educational article presents an anonymised case of one of the language variants: semantic dementia. The cognitive deficits and neuropsychiatric manifestations (delusions and hyperreligiosity) are explored in terms of aetiology and management. By the end of the article, readers should be able to differentiate FTD from Alzheimer's disease, understand the principles of management and associated risks, and develop a multifaceted approach to hyperreligiosity in dementia.

Prevalence of autistic traits in functional neurological disorder and relationship to alexithymia and psychiatric comorbidity.

INTRODUCTION: In a cohort of adults with Functional Neurological Disorder (FND), we aim to: METHODS: 91 patients participating in a FND 5-week outpatient program completed baseline self-report questionnaires for total phobia, somatic symptom severity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. Patients were grouped by Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ-10) score of <6 or ≥ 6 and compared for significant differences in tested variables. This analysis was repeated with patients grouped by alexithymia status. Simple effects were tested using pairwise comparisons. Multistep regression models tested direct relationships between autistic traits and psychiatric comorbidity scores, and mediation by alexithymia. RESULTS: 36 patients (40%) were AQ-10 positive (scoring ≥6 on AQ-10). A further 36 patients (across AQ-10 positive and AQ-10 negative groups) (40%) screened positive for alexithymia. AQ-10 positive patients scored significantly higher for alexithymia, depression, generalised anxiety, social phobia, ADHD, and dyslexia. Alexithymia positive patients scored significantly higher for generalised anxiety, depression, somatic symptoms severity, social phobia, and dyslexia. Alexithymia score was found to mediate the relationship between autistic trait and depression scores. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate a high proportion of autistic and alexithymic traits, in adults with FND. A higher prevalence of autistic traits may highlight a need for specialised communication approaches in FND management. Mechanistic conclusions are limited. Future research could explore links with interoceptive data.