language impairment in Alzheimer's disease

Clinical manifestations

• initial word-finding difficulties
• empty speech with a preference for using words such as 'thing' or 'it', or circumlocution around the specific word not recalled
• anomia
  • begins with inability to recognize objects with multiple choice
  • progresses to inability to name object despite cues
• repetition & reading preserved
• final stages: verbal output limited to echolalia or palilalia

More general terms

• cognitive impairment

Additional terms

• Alzheimer's disease (AD)
• language