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Neurocase

Behavior, Cognition and Neuroscience
Volume 18, 2012 - Issue 3
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Original Articles

Visualizing the emergence of posterior cortical atrophy

, , , , , & show all
Pages 248-257
Received 03 Dec 2010
Accepted 09 Mar 2011
Published online: 25 Oct 2011

Posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) is a neurodegenerative condition characterized by a progressive loss of visual processing skills and other posterior functions. Diagnosis is often delayed in PCA as symptoms can be difficult for the patient to articulate and for the clinician to detect. Diagnosis is particularly challenging in the earliest stages of the disease since visual symptoms are often mistaken as being related to ocular rather than cortical dysfunction. This report describes a 61-year-old man who volunteered as a healthy control participant in a longitudinal research study and was followed up for 5 years. During that time he showed a gradual decline in posterior cortical functions including visuoperceptual, visuospatial, and literacy impairments in the context of intact verbal episodic memory. Structural image analysis revealed atrophy which was initially most marked in inferior temporal and posterior parietal cortices before spreading to occipital cortices and subsequently to more anterior regions. Based on the clinical, neuropsychological and neuroimaging features, a diagnosis of PCA was made. The present case represents a unique opportunity to study and visualize the evolution of PCA from the very earliest symptomatic stages.

Acknowledgments

We thank the patients and their families for their generous participation in the study. We would also like to thank Dr J Stevens for his contribution to the MRI assessment. This work was undertaken at UCLH/UCL who received a proportion of funding from the Department of Health's NIHR Biomedical Research Centres funding scheme. The Dementia Research Centre is an Alzheimer's Research UK Co-ordinating Centre and has also received equipment funded by the Alzheimer's Research UK. ML is supported by the Alzheimer's Society; HA is funded by an Alzheimer's Research UK Clinical Research Fellowship; NCF is supported by an MRC (UK) Senior Clinical Fellowship and holds an NIHR senior investigator award; and SC is supported by an Alzheimer's Research UK Senior Research Fellowship.

 

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