Patterns of decline in naming and semantic knowledge in primary progressive aphasia

ABSTRACTBackground: Individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and their caregivers want to know what to expect so that they can plan support appropriately. The ability to predict decline in naming and semantic knowledge, and advise individuals with PPA and their caregivers regarding future planning, would be invaluable clinically.Aims: The aims of this study were to investigate patterns of decline in naming and semantic knowledge in each of the clinical variants of PPA (logopenic variant PPA, lvPPA; nonfluent agrammatic PPA, nfaPPA; and semantic variant PPA, svPPA) and to examine the effects of other variables on rate of decline. We hypothesized that speech-language rehabilitation, higher education, and higher baseline test scores would be associated with slower decline, and older age with faster decline.Methods and Procedures: A total of 94 participants with PPA underwent language testing, including 36 participants with lvPPA, 31 participants with nfaPPA, and 27 participants with svPPA. All part...