eMedicine Specialties > Neurology > Behavioral Neurology and Dementia

Frontal Lobe Syndromes: Treatment & Medication

Author: Alberto J Espay, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati
Coauthor(s): Daniel H Jacobs, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Contributor Information and Disclosures

Updated: Jan 11, 2008

Treatment

Medical Care

Medical care depends entirely on the pathology present.

Consultations

Consultation with a neuropsychologist and/or behavioral neurologist is indicated to determine the nature and extent of the cognitive deficits present and to help work with the patients and families.

Formal consultation with a neuropsychologist is often advantageous to clarify the extent of the brain damage and to make appropriate cognitive treatment plans. Neuropsychologists are also exceedingly helpful because of their psychological background in dealing with patients and their families.

The patient and family frequently deny or minimize the importance of the deficit. Consultation can help ensure that the home setting is truly appropriate for the patient and/or family.

If a home setting is agreed on, these consultants can determine the need for assistance. Assistants can include physical, occupational, and/or speech therapists; home health aides; visiting nurses; respite care staff; and adult day-care staff, who are trained to help the patient succeed in the desired setting. Consultation with a social worker may also be helpful.

Activity

Patients with frontal lesions and deficits frequently need supervision because of their lack of impulse control and their inability to form and follow plans and strategies.

Medication

No medications are available to help frontal injuries.

Drugs that help memory in Alzheimer dementia are rarely of benefit for frontal lobe deficits or problems.

More on Frontal Lobe Syndromes

Overview: Frontal Lobe Syndromes
Differential Diagnoses & Workup: Frontal Lobe Syndromes
Treatment & Medication: Frontal Lobe Syndromes
Follow-up: Frontal Lobe Syndromes
Multimedia: Frontal Lobe Syndromes
References
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References

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Further Reading

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Keywords

frontal-lobe syndromes, mental status examinations, Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE, Mental Status Examination, MSE, neuropsychology, precentral cortex, prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, Alzheimer disease, amyloid angiopathy, anterior circulation stroke, aphasia, apraxia, arteriovenous malformations, cardioembolic stroke, carotid disease, cerebral aneurysms, glioblastoma multiforme, low-grade astrocytoma, meningioma, Pick disease, primary CNS lymphoma, echopraxia, antisaccade task
 
Thurstone test, semantic category fluency tasks, letter fluency task, design fluency, digit span, alternating sequences task, Luria's 3-step motor program, fist-palm-edge test, Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test, PASAT, Visual Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale, Hamilton Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Zung Self-rating Depression Scale, Stroop test, classic Broca-type aphasia, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, NIHSS, deep dyslexia,  Controlled Oral Word Association test, FAS test, Western Aphasia Battery test, WAB test, Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, BDAE, Token testpraxis, buccofacial apraxia, callosal apraxia, anterior cerebral artery strokes, anosognosia, anosodiaphoria, neglect dyslexia, motor extinction, misoplegia, dressing apraxia, constructional apraxia, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, WAIS, Rey Complex Figure Test, Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, WCST, Witzelsucht, factiousness, moria, pseudopsychopaths, frontosubcortical dementia, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, depressive pseudodementia, vitamin B-12 dementia, nutrition-related whole-brain atrophy, alcohol-related whole-brain atrophy, paratonic rigidity, vascular syndromes, middle cerebral artery strokes, artery of Huebner, akinesia, abulia, mutism, confabulatory amnesia, Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, anomia, agitated confusional state, frontal lobe tumors, gliomatous tumors, meningioma, subdural hematoma, prefrontal lobotomy, leukotomy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, gait apraxia, cortical atrophy, Boston naming test, frontotemporal dementias

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Contributor Information and Disclosures

Author

Alberto J Espay, MD, MSc, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Cincinnati
Alberto J Espay, MD, MSc is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology and Movement Disorders Society
Disclosure: Boehringer-Ingelheim Consulting fee Consulting; Codman Grant/research funds Other; Medtronic Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Medtronic Grant/research funds Other; Allergan Grant/research funds Other; UCB-Schwarz Pharm Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Novartis  Speaking and teaching

Coauthor(s)

Daniel H Jacobs, MD, Associate Professor of Neurology, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Daniel H Jacobs, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Society of Neurorehabilitation, and Society for Neuroscience
Disclosure: Teva Pharmaceutical Grant/research funds Consulting; Biogen Idex Grant/research funds Independent contractor; Serono EMD Royalty Speaking and teaching; Pfizer Royalty Speaking and teaching; Berlex Royalty Speaking and teaching

Medical Editor

Joseph Quinn, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurology, Portland VA Medical Center, Oregon Health Sciences University
Joseph Quinn, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, Society for Neuroscience, and Society for Pediatric Radiology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Pharmacy Editor

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Managing Editor

Richard J Caselli, MD, Professor, Department of Neurology, Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN; Chair, Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic of Scottsdale
Richard J Caselli, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology, American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine, American Medical Association, American Neurological Association, and Sigma Xi
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

CME Editor

Matthew J Baker, MD, Consulting Staff, Collier Neurologic Specialists, Naples Community Hospital
Matthew J Baker, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology
Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Howard A Crystal, MD, Professor, Departments of Neurology and Pathology, State University of New York Downstate; Consulting Staff, Department of Neurology, University Hospital and Kings County Hospital Center
Howard A Crystal, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy of Neurology and American Neurological Association
Disclosure: Pfizer Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Myriad Honoraria Consulting

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