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Aphasia, primary progressive

a type of aphasia appearing gradually and gradually worsening without any major change in other cognitive functions. It is regarded by some authors as a syndrome which may be due to various degenerative diseases of the cerebral cortex (notably alzheimer disease, owing to its frequency), while others see in it an autonomous disease related to a neuropathological process that is distinct from the main degenerative dementias. The principal clinical peculiarity of primary progressive aphasia is that it spares the patients autonomy for a long time, but ultimately turns into global dementia.