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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staff
Primary progressive aphasia (uh-FAY-zhuh ) is a rare neurological syndrome that impairs language capabilities. People with primary progressive aphasia may have trouble naming objects or may misuse word endings, verb tenses, conjunctions and pronouns.
Symptoms of primary progressive aphasia begin gradually, sometimes before the age of 65, and tend to worsen over time. People with primary progressive aphasia can become mute and may eventually lose the ability to understand written or spoken language.
People with primary progressive aphasia usually continue caring for themselves, working and maintaining their interests, sometimes for many years after the disorder's onset.
Primary progressive aphasia is a type of frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a cluster of related disorders that all originate in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain.
- Progressive aphasia. The Association for Frontotemporal Dementias. http://www.ftd-picks.org/frontotemporal-dementias/disorders/progressive-aphasia. Accessed May 25, 2010.
- NINDS frontotemporal dementia information page. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/picks/picks.htm. Accessed May 25, 2010.
- Degenerative diseases of the nervous system. In: Ropper AH, et al. Adams & Victor's Principles of Neurology. 9th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill: 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3639106&searchStr=aphasia%2c+primary+progressive. Accessed May 25, 2010.
- Semantic dementia. The Association for Frontotemporal Dementias. http://www.ftd-picks.org/frontotemporal-dementias/disorders/semantic-dementia. Accessed May 25, 2010.
- Rogalski E, et al. Increased frequency of learning disability in patients with primary progressive aphasia and their first-degree relatives. Archives of Neurology. 2008;65:24.
- Haugarvoll K, et al. The genetics of frontotemporal dementia. Neurologic Clinics. 2007;25:697.
- Craft S, et al. Cognitive changes associated with normal and pathological aging. In: Halter JB, et al. Hazzard's Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology. 6th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw Hill; 2009. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5122009&searchStr=aphasia%2c+primary+progressive#5122009. Accessed May 25, 2010.
- Frontotemproal dementia. The Association for Frontotemporal Dementias. http://www.ftd-picks.org/frontotemporal-dementias/ftd-overview. Accessed May 25, 2010.
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