Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is best described as what?

• A. A neurodegenerative dementia syndrome with gradual progression and initial linguistic symptoms
• B. An acute aphasia caused by a stroke
• C. A language disorder that improves spontaneously over time
• D. A memory-dominant dementia with minor language impairment

Answer: (A)

Primary Progressive Aphasia is defined by a gradual, degenerative decline where language is the first and most prominent difficulty, while other cognitive abilities are relatively spared early on. This distinguishes it from stroke-related aphasia, which starts suddenly after an acute event and from conditions where language might spontaneously improve, which PPA does not. It also contrasts with a memory-dominant dementia, where memory problems are primary and language issues are secondary. So the best description is a neurodegenerative dementia syndrome with gradual progression and initial linguistic symptoms.