Key Indicators Of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Loss Of Speech

Loss of speech may occur as primary progressive aphasia progresses. The condition continues to progress until the language centers in the brain are irreparably damaged. With semantic PPA, patients lose their understanding of words and their definitions over time. In progressive non-fluent aphasia, affected individuals may need to make more effort with speech. They may use an incorrect word or incorrect grammar because their understanding of language structure is impaired. With logopenic aphasia, patients may have to pause when they speak to find the right word. The progression of logopenic aphasia can result in patients losing their ability to speak entirely. There are also cases where apraxia occurs alongside the aphasia. Apraxia damages an individual's ability to form and pronounce words, even if they can retrieve the word they want. Apraxia patients sometimes become completely mute. The combination of aphasia and apraxia may be more likely to lead to muteness than apraxia or aphasia alone.