Why Dementia Patients Lose Empathy
Dementia comes in different types, and one big reason patients lose empathy is frontotemporal dementia, or FTD. This form hits the front and side parts of the brain that handle personality, feelings, and how we connect with others. When those areas shrink, people struggle to understand or care about what others feel.
In the most common type of FTD, called behavioral variant FTD or bvFTD, patients often seem cold or disconnected. They might not comfort a crying family member or react to sad news. This is not because they choose to be mean. Brain damage stops them from reading faces, voices, or emotions right. Early on, they show a little less care. In the middle stage, they barely get others’ feelings. By the late stage, empathy is mostly gone.
The frontal lobe controls judgment and self-control. The temporal lobe helps with social skills and language. Proteins like tau build up in these spots, killing brain cells. That leads to less concern for people around them, rude comments, or ignoring needs. Caregivers notice loved ones acting like they do not care anymore, which hurts families a lot.
Unlike Alzheimer’s, which mostly messes with memory first, FTD changes behavior right away. Patients lose interest in hobbies, forget manners, or act on impulses without thinking. They might not see their own changes, making it hard for doctors to spot at first. Genes play a role in some cases, but most happen without family history.
This empathy loss grows worse over time. In early days, it looks like moodiness or depression. Later, it turns into full emotional flatness. Families feel the weight, as daily life gets tougher with less support from the patient.
Sources
https://int.livhospital.com/bvftd-stages-5-extreme-behavior-changes-revealed/
https://www.metropolisindia.com/blog/preventive-healthcare/frontotemporal-dementia
https://www.augustahealth.com/disease/frontotemporal-dementia/
https://beingpatient.com/frontotemporal-dementia-ftd-diagnosis-challenges/
https://www.oreateai.com/blog/how-to-know-when-a-person-is-suffering-from-dementia/b335c49e736aff1d84ef7b92ef7c1cec
https://rollingout.com/2026/01/05/early-dementia-signs-symptoms-doctor/
https://www.bangkokhospital.com/en/chiangmai/content/dementia-bcm
