Introduction: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a clinical dementia syndrome associated with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) or Alzheimer's disease (AD). Impairment in activities of daily living is essential for dementia diagnosis, yet less is known about the neuropathologic impact on functional decline in PPA, especially over time.
Methods: Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (ADLQ) ratings were compared by suspected underlying pathology between 17 PPAAβ+ and 11 PPAAβ- participants at 6-month intervals for 2 years using a linear mixed-effects model. A general linear model examined associations between functional decline and cortical thickness at baseline.
Results: Groups did not differ in demographics or aphasia severity at baseline, yet overall and subdomain scores of the ADLQ were significantly worse for PPAAβ+ compared to PPAAβ- (P = .015) at each interval across 18 months.
Discussion: Functional decline appears more pronounced and disrupts more aspects of life activities for individuals with non-semantic PPA with suspected AD versus non-AD neuropathology.
Keywords: activities of daily living; dementia; frontotemporal dementia; primary progressive aphasia.
© 2021 the Alzheimer's Association.