TARDBP mutations in motoneuron disease with frontotemporal lobar degeneration

TDP‐43 (TAR‐DNA binding protein) aggregates in neuronal inclusions in motoneuron disease (MND), as well as in frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and FTLD associated with MND (FTLD‐MND). Mutations in TARDBP gene, coding for TDP‐43, were found in patients with pure MND. We now describe TARDBP mutations in two patients with FTLD‐MND, presenting with a behavioral variant of FTLD and semantic dementia, suggesting that TDP‐43 may also have a direct pathogenic role in FTLD disorders. Ann Neurol 2009;65:470–474