ABSTRACT
The logopenic variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia, or logopenic aphasia, is a the most recently described variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia and also the least well defined. This variant can present clinical findings that are also common to Alzheimer?s disease, given they both share the same cytopathologic findings. This article reports the clinical case of a patient for whom it proved difficult to define a clinical diagnosis, being split between the logopenic variant and Alzheimer?s disease at different phases of the disease. Using this case as an example and drawing on the latest evidence from the literature on the logopenic variant, we postulate the hypothesis that this variant may present as an initial symptom of Alzheimer?s disease in some atypical cases.
A variante logopênica da Afasia Progressiva Primária, ou afasia logopênica, é a variante mais recentemente descrita entre todas as variantes da Afasia Progressiva Primária e, também por isso, a menos definida. Essa variante pode apresentar achados clínicos em comum com a doença de Alzheimer pelo fato de compartilharem o mesmo achado citopatológico. Este artigo descreve o caso clínico de uma paciente na qual se evidenciou uma dificuldade em assumir o diagnóstico clínico que se dividia entre a variante logopênica e a doença de Alzheimer em determinadas fases da doença. Utilizando este caso como exemplo e as atuais evidências que a literatura apresenta sobre a variante logopênica, levantamos a hipótese de que essa variante pode apresentar-se como uma manifestação inicial da doença de Alzheimer em alguns casos menos típicos.
Subject(s)
Humans , Aphasia , Aphasia, Primary Progressive , Diagnosis , Alzheimer DiseaseABSTRACT
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is classified into agrammatic, semantic, and logopenic variants, but differential diagnosis is often challenging. There is accumulating evidence that the neuropathology of logopenic PPA is distinct from that of the other types. We report herein a woman with logopenic PPA who was diagnosed by clinical, neuropsychological, and radiologic data during 2 years of follow-up. Interestingly, her cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers were found to be similar to those found in Alzheimer's disease, with a decreased concentration of Abeta42 and an increased concentration of pTau181 (tTau).
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Alzheimer Disease , Aphasia , Aphasia, Primary Progressive , Biomarkers , Cerebrospinal Fluid , Diagnosis, Differential , Follow-Up Studies , SemanticsABSTRACT
With the progressive aging of the Chilean population the diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders is increasingly common, and among them is Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), with specific symptoms but late consultation. PPA is a clinical syndrome characterized by the degeneration of language regions in the dominant hemisphere that determines an insidious and progressive loss of language. Two types of PPA were recognized: Progressive non-fluent Aphasia (APnF) and Progressive Semantic Aphasia (DS), and was recently identified as a new type, Logopénica Progressive Aphasia (APL). We describe a case evaluated at the University of Chile Clinical Hospital of a woman of 54 years who have a history of 2-3 years of fluent speech with reduced speed due to the difficulty in finding words, had shortcomings in repetition of complex words, phrases and sentences, presence of phonemic paraphasias and impaired episodic memory. What in the phonological assessment supports a diagnosis of APL. Despite the above, the neurological examination was normal. The APL has been associated with Alzheimer's disease because it presents impaired episodic memory and the neuropathological changes most frequently encountered are amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Through this article you may learn more about this disease and who to go if you or some colleague have symptoms to receive some guidance.
Con el progresivo envejecimiento de la población Chilena el diagnóstico de enfermedades neurodegenerativas es cada vez más com ún, y entre ellas está la afasia progresiva primaria (PPA), de síntomas específicos pero consulta tardía. PPA es un síndrome clínico caracterizado por la degeneración de las regiones del lenguaje en el hemisferio dominante que determina una pérdida insidiosa y progresiva del lenguaje. Fueron reconocidos dos tipos de PPA: Afasia Progresiva no fluente (APnF) y Afasia Progresiva Semántica (DS), y recientemente fue identificado un nuevo tipo como, Afasia Progresiva Logopénica (APL). Se describe un caso evaluado en el Hospital Clínico Universidad de Chile de una mujer de 54 años que presenta una historia de 2-3 años de habla fluida, con disminución de la velocidad debido a la dificultad para encontrar palabras, presentaba fallas en repetición de palabras complejas, frases y oraciones, presencia de parafasias fonémicas y problemas de memoria episódica. Lo que en la evaluación fonológica es compatible con un diagnóstico de APL. A pesar de todo lo anterior el examen neurológico fue normal. La APL se ha asociado con la enfermedad de Alzheimer, ya que presenta deterioro de la memoria episódica y los cambios neuropatológicos más frecuentes son las placas amiloides y los ovillos neurofibrilares. A través de este artículo podrán conocer más acerca de esta enfermedad y a quien acudir en caso de presentar síntomas usted o algún conocido para recibir alguna orientación.