Primary Progressive Aphasia in Italian and English
Salvatore Mazzeo, Chris JD Hardy, Jessica Jiang, Carmen Morinelli, Valentina Moschini, Ella Brooks, Jeremy C. S. Johnson, Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul, Giulia Giacomucci, Anna Volkmer, Jonathan D. Rohrer, Assunta Ingannato, Silvia Bagnoli, Sonia Padiglioni, Benedetta Nacmias, Sandro Sorbi, Valentina Bessi, Jason D. Warren
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Current formulations of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) derive largely from English-speaking patients. We hypothesized that language-specific characteristics influence PPA phenotypes in 2 contrasting languages: Italian and English. METHODS: tests and adjusted for symptom duration and severity of cognitive impairment using logistic regression. RESULTS: < 0.001, OR 0.02, 95% CI 0.01-0.20). DISCUSSION: Language-specific characteristics influenced PPA phenotypes, with more frequent expressive agrammatism in Italian (reflecting its morphologic complexity), more frequently impaired word processing in English (reflecting its articulatory, acoustic, and orthographic complexity), and increased prevalence of mPPA in Italian. These findings have implications for PPA diagnosis and management. Limitations of test heterogeneity and cohort size should be addressed in future, prospective, multicenter initiatives using cross-linguistic tools.