Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic changes in semantic dementia.
Neuropathologic change underlying primary progressive aphasia (PPA) most commonly includes one of the frontotemporal lobar degenerations, such as FTLD-tau or FTLD-ubiquitin. The next most frequent etiology of PPA is Alzheimer's disease (AD). We describe 5 subjects with clinical diagnoses of semantic dementia, who underwent longitudinal clinical evaluation and postmortem neuropathology examination of the central nervous system. This case series examines retrospectively which clinical parameters might have pointed to the neuropathological diagnosis of AD.


CONCLUSIONS
family history of late onset dementia, APOEepsilon4 status, combined features of semantic dementia and progressive non-fluent aphasia present early in illness, or generalized seizures, may indicate AD as the underlying pathology of semantic dementia.
Rotman Research Institute and Division of Neurology, Baycrest, Toronto, ON, Canada. tchow@rotman-baycrest.on.ca
Tiffany W
TW
Chow
Arousiak
A
Varpetian
Taryn
T
Moss
Harry V
HV
Vinters
Stefanie
S
Marquez
Carol
C
Miller
D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000235:genetics; D053327:Apolipoprotein E4 / Q000235:genetics; D001931:Brain Mapping; D057174:Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010091:Oximes; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
D053327:Apolipoprotein E4; D010091:Oximes; C068296:hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime