Primary Progressive Aphasia

Question 1

Primary Progressive Aphasia

Answer 1

a rare neurological syndrome that impairs language in people over 50

Question 2

Cause of primary progressive aphasia

Answer 2

unknown, but brain imaging studies of people with the condition show shrinkage in the section of the brain devoted to language skills.

Question 3

What happens to language skills in patients with primary progressive aphasia?

Answer 3

gradually diminish, pt may have great difficulty understanding and using written or spoken language

Question 4

Primary Progressive Aphasia and Alzheimers

Answer 4

Symptoms may be similar but primary progressive aphasia is not usually a part of Alzheimer’s disease

Question 5

Signs and symptoms of primary progressive aphasia

Answer 5

• Word finding during conversations
• People in late stages often become mute or completely lose using and understanding language
• Problems with motor speech
• As disease progress, pt likely need day to day care

Question 6

Orientation and memory not affects early on

Answer 6

true

Question 7

Pts with primary progressive aphasia diagnosed with

Answer 7

dementia as the disease progresses

Question 8

Screening and diagnosis

Answer 8

there is no specific test that can confirm diagnosis primary progressive aphasia so instead doctors rule out any other conditions first

Question 9

Treatment for primary progressive aphasia using medication

Answer 9

there are no drugs that specifically treat this disease

Question 10

Treatment for primary progressive aphasia using language therapy

Answer 10

focuses primarily on practice drills or efforts to compensate for eroding language skills particularly with comprehension of spoken instructions, productions of sentences, retrieval of words and number reading

Question 11

The effects of primary progressive aphasia

Answer 11

differ from person to person

Question 12

People who have lost speech skills to a greater extent than reading and writing skills may be able to

Answer 12

use a computer to help them communicate

Question 13

People who have lost speech, reading, and writing skills sometimes can learn to use

Answer 13

gestures, pantomime and drawing

Question 14

Strategies for primary progressive aphasia

Answer 14

circumlocution
understanding commands
reading and writing maintenance
dictionary with pictures to assist them
computers, ipad, tablet