Table 1

Characteristics and neuropsychological data of control subjects and patients

CharacteristicsControl group (n=30)MDD group (n=19)Early bvFTD (n=17)Moderate bvFTD (n=20)
Sex (M/F)13/1711/811/612/8
Age (years)66.2±9.9 (42–82)63.3±8.4 (51–82)63.1±9.1 (53–83)66.7±8.3 (51–73)
Education level10.7±3.7 (5–16)10.5±4.7 (2–17)10.8±3.9 (3–15)10.4±4.2 (5–17)
Tests (maximal score)
 MMSE (30)29±0.9 (27–30)* 26.7±2.2 (23–30)* §27.1±2.3 (21–30) 23.3±3.9 (15–28) §
 MDRS (144)NANA135±3.2 (131–141)119.2±12 (92–131)
 FAB (18)17.1±1 (16–18)* 15.9±1.8 (13–18)* §15.5±1.8 (13–18) 12.4±3.5 (2–18) §
 WCST category (6)NA4.7±1.4 (2–6)§5±1.8 (2–6)3.1±1.9 (0–6)§
 WCST perseveration errorsNA3.1±3.6 (0–11)4.7±6.3 (0–14)5.8±4.9 (0–14)
 WCST attentional errorsNA2.2±1.7 (0–6)**0.9±1.5 (0–4)**1.8±1.7 (0–5)
 Morphological fluencyNA10.8±4.5 (2–20)§9.1±3.6 (4–15)3.9±6.4 (1–30)§
  • Results are expressed as mean±SD (range).

  • * Significant difference between control subjects and MDD. MMSE: p<0.0001; FAB: p<0.05.

  • Significant difference between control subjects and early bvFTD. MMSE: p<0.001; FAB: p<0.001.

  • Significant difference between control subjects and moderate bvFTD. MMSE: p<0.00001; FAB: p<0.00001.

  • § Significant difference between MDD and moderate bvFTD. MMSE: p<0.0001; FAB: p<0.0001; WCST category: p=0.01; fluency: p<0.005.

  • Significant difference between early bvFTD and moderate bvFTD. MMSE: p<0.001; FAB: p<0.005; WCST category: p<0.005; fluency: p=0.005; MDRS: p<0.00001.

  • ** Significant difference between MDD and early bvFTD. Attention errors in WCST: p=0.01.

  • bvFTD, behavioural version of frontotemporal dementia; FAB, Frontal Assessment Battery; MDD, major depressive disorder; MDRS, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale; MMSE, Mini-Mental State Examination; WCST, Wisconsin Card Sorting Task.