Longitudinal Changes in Primary Progressive Aphasias: Differences in Cognitive and Dementia Staging Measures

Background/Aims: The longitudinal course of three primary progressive aphasia (PPA) variants was examined using Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) and the Frontotemporal dementia Rating Scale (FRS). Methods: Cases with two assessments on the ACE-R and FRS were selected. A total of 220 assessments were obtained on 55 patients: 17 Alzheimer's disease (AD) and 38 PPA [17 semantic variant (svPPA), 12 non-fluent/agrammatic (naPPA) and 9 logopenic variant (lvPPA) cases]. Results: The annualized rate of change was greater in all PPA variants in comparison with the AD group on the ACE-R whereas only the svPPA and naPPA groups differed from AD on the FRS. Conclusions: The longitudinal profile differs across PPA syndromes on cognitive and functional measures. Findings have theoretical implications and are relevant to the care of patients with dementia. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel