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Semantic variant primary progressive aphasia — SCE Neurology MCQ

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HardCognitive NeurologySemantic variant primary progressive aphasiaSCE Neurology

A 63-year-old has a 3-year progressive language disorder. Speech remains fluent and grammatically correct, but she cannot name low-frequency objects, no longer understands single words such as “colander”, and reads “yacht” as though it were phonically regular. Repetition of sentences is preserved. Which syndrome is most likely?

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Correct answer: C — Semantic variant primary progressive aphasia

Loss of word and object meaning, impaired confrontation naming, impaired single-word comprehension and surface dyslexia with preserved fluency and repetition define the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia. Logopenic PPA features word-finding pauses and impaired phrase or sentence repetition while single-word comprehension is relatively preserved. The non-fluent/agrammatic variant produces effortful, grammatically impaired speech, often with apraxia of speech. Progressive apraxia of speech affects motor planning rather than semantic knowledge. The combination of deficits, not merely “word-finding difficulty”, determines the variant.

Reference: Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, Primary Progressive Aphasia: https://oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/aslt/resources/communication/primary-progressive-aphasia/