“A Validated Clinical Assessment Tool to help Clinicians Differentiate between Behavioral Variant FTD and Primary Psychiatric Disorders”
What is the FTD vs PPD Checklist ?
The FTD vs PPD Checklist is a new clinical tool designed to help healthcare providers distinguish between behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and primary psychiatric disorders (PPD), such as depression or bipolar disorder. These conditions often share similar behavioral symptoms, making diagnosis challenging and leading to misdiagnoses that can delay appropriate care.
This easy-to-use checklist offers a quick and reliable assessment that can be completed in minutes, reducing the need for costly imaging tests or specialized expertise. It empowers clinicians, especially in non-specialist and community settings, to make more confident and accurate diagnoses, ensuring that patients receive the right treatment sooner.
The FTD vs PPD Checklist is a step forward in improving mental health and neurocognitive care by addressing a critical gap in diagnostic accuracy. It also holds potential for broader use in clinical practice and research, where early and precise identification of conditions is essential.
“The FTD vs PPD Checklist checklist aims to help clinicians make more informed diagnostic decisions, particularly in non-specialized settings.”
— Dr. Simon Ducharme, MD, MSc, FRCP(C)
Lead Investigator
About
-
In validation studies across two clinical cohorts (n=166), the FTD vs PPD Checklist showed strong clinical utility:
Scores ≥11 were highly indicative of bvFTD (specificity 93.9%, sensitivity 71.1%, PPV 89.2%)
Scores ≤8 strongly suggested a primary psychiatric disorder (specificity 91.3%, sensitivity 77.3%, PPV 92.7%)
Scores of 9-10 are considered indeterminate, requiring further assessment
-
Accessing the FTD vs PPD Checklist is simple:
Register with your professional email - Complete our brief registration form with your name, credentials, and professional email address.
Immediate access to both versions - Upon registration, you'll receive instant access to:
Our interactive online version that calculates scores automatically
A downloadable PDF version for printing and offline use
Privacy - Your information is protected and used only to:
Provide you with access to the checklist
Send an annual usage survey (single email per year)
Notify you of significant updates to the tool
You can opt out of communications at any time by emailing ftdvsppdchecklist@gmail.com.
This registration process helps us estimate the global use and impact of this clinical tool.
-
This checklist was developed by a multinational team of experts in neurology, psychiatry, and neuroimaging:
Lead Investigator:
Dr. Simon Ducharme, MD, MSc, FRCP(C) - Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Health Centre & McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, and Douglas Mental Health University Institute
Research Collaborators:
Yolande Pijnenburg, Leora Pearl-Dowler, Flora Gossink, Jillian McCarthy, Jimmy Lai, Bradford C. Dickerson, Howard Chertkow, Lucile Rapin, Everard Vijverberg, Welmoed Krudop, and Annemieke Dols
Institutional Affiliations:
McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
GGZinGeest/Amsterdam University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam Neuroscience Campus, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
