Assessment of Aphasia in Iranian Patients Suffering from Frontotemporal Dementia

Objectives: Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is an uncommon type of dementia. The hallmark feature of FTD is the presentation with aphasia or behavioral changes which vary in different FTD subtypes. In this study, we propose a quantitative aphasia test as an additive diagnostic tool for differentiation of FTD subtypes. Methods: The applied study was conducted on 20 patients with FTD (13 men and 7 women) aged 58-78 years (Mean age=63±0.8 years) referred to dementia clinic of Rasul Akram Hospital in Tehran, Iran. Based on clinical diagnosis, patients were divided into three groups of behavioral variant (n=5), semantic dementia (n=4) and non-fluent aphasia (n=11). The Persian Western Aphasia Battery (P-WAB-1) test was performed on the patients to assess their aphasia severity based on its overall score (Aphasia Quotient). The score of each language section of the test was also reported for each study group, separately. After recording data, they were analyzed in SPSS v. 22 software using the whole rock analysis. Significance level of Aphasia Quotient score was measured separately for each study groups. Results: Patients with non-fluent aphasia had problems only in the speech fluency domain, and their abilities in other domains remained intact. Conclusion: It seems that P-WAB-1 test is a useful tool for assessing the non-fluent aphasia in patients who suffer from progressive dementia. These patients should be referred to speech therapist for rehabilitation.