J Korean Neurol Assoc.
2001 Nov;19(6):598-607.
Neuropsychological and Neuroimaging Findings of Semantic Dementia
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea. dukna@smc.samsung.co.kr
- 2Department of Nuclear Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Korea.
- 3Department of Psychology, Hallym University, Korea.
Abstract
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BACKGROUND: Semantic dementia (SD) is a temporal variant of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which is characterized by naming difficulty, decreased comprehension of words, prosopagnosia and object visual agnosia. We report clinical features, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings of 4 patients with SD.
METHODS
Of 55 patients diagnosed as having FTLD between Jan 1995 and May 2001 at Samsung Medical Center, four patients fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of SD proposed by consensus on FTLD diagnostic criteria. We investigated their clinical features such as presenting symptoms and abnormal behaviors, neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings. Neuropsychological tests included the Seoul Neuropsychological Screening Battery, the Korean-version of Western Aphasia Battery and Hanja reading and writing. All patients underwent brain MRI and FDG-PET.
RESULTS
All of the patients showed naming difficulty as a presenting symptom. Language assessments showed severe naming and compre-hension difficulties with preserved fluency and repetition, which were compatible with transcortical sensory aphasia. Whereas Hangul reading aloud and writing were intact, three patients were impaired at Hanja reading and writing. Other neuropsychological tests were remarkable for prosopagnosia, object visual agnosia and memory loss. Brain MRI showed asymmetric temporal atrophies, mainly left antero-inferior temporal cortices. FDG-PET also showed hypome-tabolism in bilateral anterior temporal lobes, more severe on the left.
CONCLUSIONS
Our SD patients had characteristic neuropsychological and neuroimaging findings, which can be differentiated from other neurodegenerative diseases. We also found Hanja alexia and agraphia in SD patients, which has not been reported yet.
MeSH Terms
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Agnosia
Agraphia
Aphasia
Aphasia, Wernicke
Atrophy
Brain
Comprehension
Consensus
Dyslexia
Frontotemporal Dementia*
Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Mass Screening
Memory Disorders
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Neuroimaging*
Neuropsychological Tests
Prosopagnosia
Semantics*
Seoul
Temporal Lobe
Writing
