Primary progressive aphasia: Demographic, clinical, and imaging correlates in patients classified according to the 2011 diagnostic criteria

The proposal of Gorno-Tempini et al (2011) for the classification of the main subtypes of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) has contributed to unify a diagnostic criterion which has made possible comparisons among studies as well as multicentre collaborative research. Objective: To analyze the demographic and clinical data and neuroimaging correlates of a series of 19 PPA cases assessed in a Brazilian reference center for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology. Over a period of 18 months, 19 patients presenting progressive language deterioration underwent extensive clinical investigation in our center, including neurological examination, neuropsychological, speech and language assessments and structural neuroimaging exams (MRI). Diagnoses were defined by a consensus discussion based on the 2011 diagnostic criteria of PPA, in order to classify the patients in one of the three main variants proposed: non-fluent (nfvPPA), semantic (svPPA) and logopenic (lvPPA). The sample comprised 9 women and 10 men, aged 65.41 ± 5,45 years and with mean schooling of 13.5 ± 4,23 years. Only one case could not be classified in any of the three main variants. Ten patients fulfilled criteria for svPPA, 5 for nfvPPA and 3 for lvPPA. Neuroimaging exams pointed to left impairment in most cases, but in six subjects bilateral atrophy was observed. The sample comprised 9 women and 10 men, aged 65.41 ± 5,45 years and with mean schooling of 13.5 ± 4,23 years. Only one case could not be classified in any of the three main variants. Ten patients fulfilled criteria for svPPA, 5 for nfvPPA and 3 for lvPPA. Neuroimaging exams pointed to left impairment in most cases, but in six subjects bilateral atrophy was observed.