title: Probable Alzheimer's disease patients presenting as "focal temporal lobe dysfunction" show a slow rate of cognitive decline.
abstract: Several authors have recently shown that anterograde amnesia is often associated with semantic memory impairment in amnesic MCI patients. Similarly, after the MCI condition, some patients who convert to Alzheimer's disease (AD) show the classic onset (cAD) characterized by the impairment of memory and executive functions, whereas other AD patients show isolated defects of episodic and semantic memory without deficits in other cognitive domains. The latter have been considered an AD variant characterized by 'focal Temporal Lobe Dysfunction' (TLD). The aim of the present study was to assess the differences in disease progression between cAD and TLD. For this purpose a continuous series of newly diagnosed probable AD patients presenting as cAD (n = 30) and TLD (n = 25), matched for severity, and 65 healthy controls underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation at baseline; TLD and cAD were re-evaluated at a 24-month follow-up. At follow-up, TLD patients showed no significant worsening of cognitive functions, whereas cAD subjects displayed a significant worsening in all explored cognitive domains. In conclusion, our results confirm that probable AD presenting as TLD represents a specific onset of AD characterized by a slower rate of progression.
authors: Department of Neuroscience-Center for Neuropsychological Research, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Largo A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy. cmarra@rm.unicatt.it
authors: Camillo
authors: C
authors: Marra
authors: Giampiero
authors: G
authors: Villa
authors: Davide
authors: D
authors: Quaranta
authors: Alessandro
authors: A
authors: Valenza
authors: Maria Gabriella
authors: MG
authors: Vita
authors: Guido
authors: G
authors: Gainotti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology*