Cited by 325Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ResearchAlzheimer's disease research and treatments

The pathological basis of semantic dementia

Davies, R. Rhys, Hodges, John R., Kril, Jillian J., Patterson, Karalyn, Halliday, Glenda M., Xuereb, John H.·2005·Brain

Abstract

Semantic dementia is a syndrome of progressive deterioration in semantic memory (knowledge of objects, people, concepts and words). It falls within the clinical spectrum of frontotemporal dementia but its pathology is yet to be studied systematically. This study included 18 consecutive post mortem cases meeting clinical criteria for semantic dementia. Clinic records and diagnostic histopathology were available for all cases; structural neuroimaging, neuropsychology and semi-quantitative histopathology/immunohistochemistry data were analysed where possible. The pathological diagnosis in a clear majority of cases was frontotemporal degeneration with ubiquitin inclusions (n = 13). Eleven of these cases had characteristic motor neuron disease-type inclusions in the dentate gyrus and cerebral cortex. Ubiquitin inclusions were found only in the inferior olivary nucleus in the other two, one of which was the only case to show degeneration of motor tracts and also to have shown evidence of motor neuron disease during life. None of the patients had motor symptoms or signs at presentation. A family history of motor neuron disease was documented in one case. Pick body-positive Pick's disease appeared three times. Two cases had Alzheimer's disease and significant coincidental Alzheimer-type pathology was also found in one of the ubiquitin inclusion cases. One of the Alzheimer's disease patients had changes in white matter signal on scanning, whereas all other scans showed cerebral atrophy only. Semi-quantitative assessment of regional neuronal loss found that anterior and inferior temporal regions bore the brunt of disease across all histopathological subtypes, usually on the left side, implicating this region in semantic processing.

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Crossref · 10.1093/brain/awh582

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  • A severe neuronal loss in the CA1 subfield together with a preservation of neurons in the dentate gyrus, consistent with our imaging findings, was reported independently of the histopathological subtypes.

    “Despite this variability, a severe neuronal loss in the CA1 subfield together with a preservation of neurons in the dentate gyrus, consistent with our imaging findings, was reported independently of the histopathological subtypes (Davies et al., 2005).”
  • The pathological substrate of hippocampal atrophy in SD is not clear, notably because patients with SD can present with heterogeneous pathological features.

    “Yet, the pathological substrate of hippocampal atrophy in SD is not clear, notably because patients with SD can present with heterogeneous pathological features (Davies et al., 2005).”

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Authors
Davies, R. R., Hodges, J. R., Kril, J. J., Patterson, K., Halliday, G. M., & Xuereb, J. H.
Affiliations
  • University of Cambridge (GB)
  • MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit (GB)
  • The University of Sydney (AU)
  • UNSW Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Davies, R. Rhys
Venue
Brain
Published
2005-07-06
Volume
128
Issue
9
Pages
1984-1995
ISSN
  • 0006-8950 (ISSN-L)
  • 1460-2156
OpenAlex
W2137466608
Cited by
325
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 19
FWCI
16.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Brain (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Dkgest of the World Latest Medical Information
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust
  • Medical Research Council
  • National Health and Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Neurology › Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
Keywords
semantic dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Pick's disease, Alzheimer's disease, motor neuron disease, dentate gyrus, inferior olive, neuronal loss, temporal lobe, semantic memory, postmortem neuropathology
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alzheimer Disease, Brain, Dementia, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Neuropsychological Tests, Semantics, Temporal Lobe, Pick Disease of the Brain, Ubiquitin

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