Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is a common form of early-onset dementia, but it is pathologically heterogeneous, which precludes accurate diagnosis during life of the underlying molecular cause.1 The majority of patients with FTD have either tau or TDP-43 inclusions at post mortem, but at present there are no biomarkers that can reliably separate these groups from each other or from healthy controls. This evidence concerns the gene TARDBP and frontotemporal dementia.