title: Progression of logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia to apraxia and semantic memory deficits.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Due to the nature of neurodegenerative disorders, patients with primary progressive aphasia develop cognitive impairment other than aphasia as the disorder progresses. The progression of logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA), however, has not been well described. In particular, praxic disorders and semantic memory deficits have rarely been reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report three patients in the initial stage of lvPPA who subsequently developed apraxia in the middle stage and developed clinically evident semantic memory deficits in the advanced stages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present case series suggests that some patients with lvPPA develop an atypical type of dementia with apraxia and semantic memory deficits, suggesting that these cases should be classified as a type of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital, Ashikaga-City, Japan. Fimndia@aol.com.
authors.forename: Michitaka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Funayama
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakagawa
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamaya
authors.forename: Fumihiro
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yoshino
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mimura
authors.forename: Motoichiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D018888:Aphasia, Primary Progressive / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D001072:Apraxias / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged