title: Is descriptive writing useful in the differential diagnosis of logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia, Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment?
abstract: Current classification of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) encompasses three variants: non-fluent (nfvPPA), semantic (svPPA) and logopenic (lvPPA). Previously lvPPA was regarded as aphasic form of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, not all patients with lvPPA phenotype present with AD pathology. Despite abundant literature on differentiation of lvPPA from svPPA and nfvPPA, studies comparing lvPPA with AD and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are scarce. This study aimed at analyzing written descriptive output in lvPPA, AD and MCI. Thirty-five patients participated in the study: 9 with lvPPA, 13 with AD and 13 with MCI. Most aspects of writing performance were comparable in three groups. However, letter insertion errors appeared in 44% patients with lvPPA, while they were absent in AD and MCI. Patients with lvPPA used more verbs than patients with AD. Writing profile may complement other neuropsychological assessment results in the differential diagnosis of lvPPA. Letter insertion errors and frequent verb use may raise a query of lvPPA.
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, St. Adalbert Hospital, Copernicus Podmiot Leczniczy Sp. z o.o., Gdansk, Poland; Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Nursing, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland. Electronic address: emiliasitek@gumed.edu.pl.
authors.forename: Emilia J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sitek
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of Interior, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barczak
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, St. Adalbert Hospital, Copernicus Podmiot Leczniczy Sp. z o.o., Gdansk, Poland; Speech Therapy Department, Faculty of Languages, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Klaudia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kluj-Kozłowska
authors.affiliation: Speech Therapy Department, Faculty of Languages, University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland; Neurological Rehabilitation Department, Specialist Hospital in Koscierzyna, Dzierzazno, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kozłowski
authors.affiliation: Neurodegenerative Disorders Department, Mossakowski Medical Research Center, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barcikowska
authors.affiliation: Neurology Department, St. Adalbert Hospital, Copernicus Podmiot Leczniczy Sp. z o.o., Gdansk, Poland; Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Nursing, Medical University of Gdansk, Gdansk, Poland.
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sławek
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000381:Agraphia / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D018888:Aphasia, Primary Progressive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D060825:Cognitive Dysfunction / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests
keywords: Agraphia; Alzheimer's disease; Logopenic progressive aphasia; Mild cognitive impairment; Primary progressive aphasia