PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Stefano Zago
AU  - Cristina Scarpazza
AU  - Teresa Difonzo
AU  - Andrea Arighi
AU  - Dounia Hajhajate
AU  - Yvan Torrente
AU  - Giuseppe Sartori
TI  - Behavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia and Homicide in a Historical Case
AID  - 10.29158/JAAPL.200081-20
DP  - 2021 Jun 01
TA  - Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law Online
PG  - 219--227
VI  - 49
IP  - 2
4099  - http://jaapl.org/content/49/2/219.short
4100  - http://jaapl.org/content/49/2/219.full
SO  - J Am Acad Psychiatry Law2021 Jun 01; 49
AB  - Criminal behavior is a clinical feature of the behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), ranging from socially inappropriate behavior and minor offenses (such as shoplifting, driving-related violations, housebreaking, trespassing) to the more extreme acts of sex crimes and violence. To our knowledge, no homicide case involving bvFTD is well illustrated in the scientific literature, and only a few anecdotal annotations are available about bvFTD and homicide. This is surprising considering the inclination of individuals with bvFTD to lack impulse control, to manifest disinhibition, to display diminished emotional awareness and loss of empathy, and to show behavior indicative of disordered moral reasoning. Here, we describe the 19th-century homicide case of Benjamin Reynaud, a man whose clinical characteristics suggest the bvFTD diagnosis. Reynaud's case may represent a rare instance of homicide committed by an individual with bvFTD and provide a basis for some reflections regarding the relationship between homicidal behavior and bvFTD.