From: deputydawg23x@gmail.com   
      
   Out-of-character criminal actions linked to dementia   
   Behind the Headlines   
   Wednesday January 7 2015   
      
      
   Criminal acts associated with dementia can be antisocial but not usually   
   violent   
   Criminal activity was not linked to all forms of dementia   
   "Could criminal behaviour be the first sign of dementia?" the Mail Online   
   asks. A US study found an association between sudden, unusual criminal   
   behaviour, such as shoplifting or urinating in public, and various types of   
   dementia.   
   The study looked at crimes committed by patients suffering from a number of   
   diseases that damage the brain and cause dementia. It found more than 8% of   
   patients had a history of criminal behaviour that first emerged during their   
   illness.   
   Patients with Alzheimer's disease, a common form of dementia - were the least   
   likely to commit crimes, while those with a type of uncommon dementia called   
   frontotemporal dementia (FTD) were the most likely to commit crimes including   
   theft, traffic    
   violations, sexual advances and urinating in public. This has long been   
   recognised as an effect of the disorder, as it typically causes a change in   
   personality and can lead to disinhibition.   
   This study suggests - but cannot prove - that, in older adults, new criminal   
   behaviour could be a sign of brain damage caused by a dementing disorder.   
   If you are worried about a relative's behaviour or changes in personality, it   
   is sensible to seek medical advice.   
   What is frontotemporal dementia?   
   FTD is a rare type of dementia caused by a build-up of abnormal proteins in   
   the brain. It can profoundly alter a person's character and social conduct.   
   Typical symptoms include inappropriate behaviour in social situations and   
   difficulty with speech.   
   FTD typically starts between the ages of 45 and 65, although it can sometimes   
   affect younger people as well as the elderly.   
   There is currently no cure for FTD, but certain medications and psychological   
   therapy can help manage the symptoms.   
   Where did the story come from?   
      
   The study was carried out by researchers from Lund University in Sweden, the   
   University of California, and the University of Notre Dame in Australia.   
   It was funded by the Hennerlöfska Foundation for Medical Research, The Swedish   
   Society of Medicine and the Trolle-Wachtmeister Foundation for Medical   
   Research in Sweden, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the   
   Consortium for Frontotemporal    
   Dementia Research, the Tau Consortium and the Hillblom Aging Network in the US.   
   The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Neurology.   
   The Mail's coverage was accurate but uncritical. Its photos of someone   
   handcuffed and an angry-looking older person were unnecessary.   
   What kind of research was this?   
      
   This was a retrospective study of patients seen at a memory and ageing centre   
   in the US. It was designed to look at the frequency and type of criminal   
   behaviour that occurred among those diagnosed with a dementing disorder.   
   Such neurodegenerative diseases can cause brain dysfunction in areas such as   
   judgement, executive function, emotional processing, sexual behaviour,   
   violence and self-awareness, and this can result in antisocial and criminal   
   behaviour.   
   The crimes committed by people with dementia range from theft, traffic   
   violations and violence to hypersexuality and homicide (but the latter is   
   thought to be rare). The researchers wanted to quantify how often this happens   
   and the extent to which this    
   was the event that led the person to being diagnosed with a form of dementia.   
   What did the research involve?   
      
   Researchers reviewed the medical records of 2,397 patients seen at a US memory   
   and ageing centre between 1999 and 2012. These patients had been diagnosed   
   with a variety of neurodegenerative disorders that can cause dementia.   
   The researchers screened the patients' medical notes for specific key words to   
   identify criminal behaviour. Keywords were chosen to represent all the   
   criminal behaviours that have been observed in people with dementia. These   
   included court, arrest,    
   criminal, detain, steal, speeding, violation and violence.   
   The types of criminal behaviour were then stratified according to the   
   following categories:   
   driving under the influence (aka drink driving)   
   hit and run   
   traffic violations   
   speeding   
   insubordination towards legal authorities   
   sexual advances   
   loitering   
   public urination   
   theft   
   trespassing   
   violence (including physical and verbal threats)   
   Only criminal behaviours that occurred during the patient's illness were   
   included. The criminal behaviour was considered to be the presenting symptom   
   if the doctor specifically indicated this in the medical record.   
   Researchers then calculated the frequency of criminal behaviour for the   
   following categories of dementia or dementia-like conditions:   
   Alzheimer's disease   
   frontotemporal dementia   
   semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia - a type of dementia that   
   effects language and communication, such as speaking, reading and understanding   
   Huntington's disease - a genetic condition that can cause dementia-like   
   symptoms   
   vascular dementia - dementia caused by reduced blood flow to the brain   
   What were the basic results?   
      
   Of the 2,397 patients studied, 204 (8.5%) had a history of criminal behaviour   
   that emerged during their illness.   
   Of the major diagnostic groups, the following proportions exhibited criminal   
   behaviour:   
   42 of 545 people (7.7%) with Alzheimer's disease   
   64 of 171 people (37.4%) with FTD   
   24 of 89 people (27.0%) with the semantic variant of primary progressive   
   aphasia   
   six of 30 people (20%) with Huntington's disease    
   nine of 61 people (14.8%) with vascular dementia   
   Criminal behaviour was one of the symptoms that caused 14% of people to be   
   diagnosed with FTD, compared with 2% of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Of   
   those diagnosed with FTD, 6.4% were more likely to have exhibited violence in   
   this criminal behaviour    
   compared with 2% of people with Alzheimer's.   
   Common types of criminal behaviour in the FTD group included theft, traffic   
   violations, sexual advances, trespassing and public urination. In the   
   Alzheimer's group, the most common crime was traffic violations, often related   
   to memory loss.   
   How did the researchers interpret the results?   
      
      
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