Objective: We aimed to investigate executive functions and languages abilities in PSP patients and in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) subgroups [PSP-Richardson’s Syndrome (PSP-RS) and PSP-non-RS] according to new Movement Disorders Society criteria. We also evaluated the relationship between cognitive functions and clinical features.

Background: PSP is characterized by specific neuropsychiatric and cognitive dysfunction. The pattern of early cognitive impairment in PSP is usually a dysexecutive frontal syndrome but language domains could also be affected. New criteria for clinical diagnosis of PSP have recently been published by the Movement Disorders Society. Cognitive dysfunction is now considered one of four core features and speech/language deficit is gaining more relevance. Thus, it is increasingly important to obtain a detailed assessment of the cognitive and languages disorders.

Method: Twenty-two PSP patients underwent cognitive tests assessing attention, executive function [including Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Phonemic Fluency Test (FAS)] and different domains of language (pictures naming, sentence and single word comprehension, repetition, reading, writing, semantic association and picture description). Cognitive and clinical variables including neuropsychiatric features in all groups and between groups (PSP-RS and non-RS) were analyzed.

Results: PSP patients and PSP subgroups (RS and non-RS) showed an impairment, with respect to normative data, in frontal functions (respectively, FAB 76,2-78,6-71,4%, FAS 59,1-66,7-42,9%, semantic fluency 40,9-53,3-14,3%) and language features (sentences comprehension 27,3-13,3-57,1%, number of verbs/total words 31,8-20,0-57,1%, number of subordinates/total sentences in pictures description 36,4-40,0-28,6%).Comparing PSP-RS and PSP-non-RS significantly worse performances in PSP-RS in oculomotion as expected (p=0.035), semantic fluency (p=0,044), and FAS(p=0,039) were found. A significant correlation in all PSP patients between clinical and both executive functions and language domains was reported.

Conclusion: The presence of language disorders could be part of PSP-RS phenotype. In our cohort PSP-RS show simplified syntactic structures with paucity of used verbs even if the impairment does not meet criteria for definite agrammatism.

References: No references

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/language-disorders-in-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-an-underestimated-condition/