We appreciate your interest in the work of our MGH FTD Unit. As you can read about in other sections of the website, we provide medical clinical care for patients and families living with Frontotemporal Dementia, Primary Progressive Aphasia, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, atypical AD, and related conditions.

Bradford Dickerson
Brad Dickerson, MDDirector, MGH FTD Unit

We appreciate your interest in the work of our MGH FTD Unit. As you can read about in other sections of the website, we provide medical clinical care for patients and families living with Frontotemporal Dementia, Primary Progressive Aphasia, Posterior Cortical Atrophy, atypical AD, and related conditions. We also perform a variety of types of research to try to improve our understanding of these conditions and our ability to provide high-quality care. At the moment, most of the work we do in both of these areas is through video conference technology or in some cases by phone, but as our team becomes vaccinated we have begun resuming research projects safely under a hybrid model, with some remote assessments and some in-person MRI or PET scans or other procedures that require people to come to the hospital clinic or research facility.

I feel tremendously fortunate to lead a talented, creative, resourceful team of professionals who enable the MGH FTD Unit to strive forward in our mission to improve the field’s understanding of these disorders with the goals of finding a cure and providing comprehensive care and support for patients and families living with these conditions.

Under the circumstances of the global pandemic, we have had to pivot and learn to do things differently. Fortunately, in part with the support of generous philanthropic contributions from our community, we had already been developing innovative methods to assess and track patients’ symptoms using remote technology. We have been able to use these methods to continue to stay connected with our community of patients and families to provide treatment, support, and education, and to meet new patients and families who are coming to us for the first time for an evaluation. Once we get to know new patients and families, we make or confirm the diagnosis and work with the patient and family to develop a care plan. We also offer research opportunities to many patients and families, so that we can work together to learn more to fight back against these diseases. Our team also continues to lead remote support groups and educational forums and holds a number of community events, including our annual Evening of the Arts for FTD Gala (held remotely in October 2020).

Please explore our website to learn more about the work we do. We hope you find it informative, and we welcome any questions you have. If you would like to learn more, please reach out to us.

Best wishes and I hope you stay well.

Brad Dickerson, MD
Director, MGH FTD Unit