The National Institutes of Health has granted $30 million over the next five years to FTD research. Frontotemporal Degenertion, a rare brain disease affecting 50,000 to 60,000 Americans, is progressive degeneration in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, causing unusual behavior in patients.
FTD typically affects people in the prime of their lives, it is incredibly hard to diagnose and their is no cure. Because their is currently no test to diagnose FTD, the disease is frequently misdiagnosed as depression, early onset Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.
Three of the grants will be used to help scientists better understand, diagnose and treat FTD and its related varients. The fourth grant is money earmarked for research of rare diseases. The focus of this study will be ALS, including the disease varient of ALS with FTD.
We are hopeful that the money coming in from the NIH grants will help patients and families get earlier and more accurate diagnoses as well as develop treatments for FTD patients.
Read our FTD fact sheet to learn more about Frontotemporal Degeneration.