Learning disabilities associated with language problems later in life

Individuals with a neurodegenerative condition affecting language appear more likely to have had a history of learning disabilities than those with other types of dementia or with no cognitive problems, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

The condition known as primary progressive aphasia causes individuals to lose language abilities as they age, even though their other brain functions appear unaffected for at least the first two years, according to background information in the article. “Although risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease have been well studied, much less is known about risk factors for primary progressive aphasia,” the authors write.

Emily Rogalski, Ph.D., then at Northwestern University and now at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, and colleagues studied a group of 699 individuals—108 with primary progressive aphasia, 154 with Alzheimer’s disease, 84 with a related disorder known as frontotemporal dementia and 353 controls without dementia. When enrolling in the study, participants completed a detailed demographic and medical history interview that included two questions about whether they or immediate family members had a history of learning disabilities. A medical record review was conducted for the 23 individuals with primary progressive aphasia who reported either a personal or family history of learning disability.