VISUAL VARIANT OF ALZHEIMER-DISEASE - DISTINCTIVE NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL FEATURES

A subgroup of patients with probable Alzheimer disease (AD) reported a history of isolated visual disturbances (VS) early in the course of d isease, without the characteristic memory complaints. Brain imaging an d neuropathologic studies indicated that this subgroup had larger invo lvement of visual cortical areas and relative sparing of temporal, fro ntal, and limbic structures compared with classic AD. Consistent with these findings, the authors hypothesized that the cognitive deficits i n this subgroup would be distinctly different from those seen in more typical AD patients. The authors studied 10 probable AD patients with VS (AD+VS), 22 patients without VS (AD-), and 25 healthy controls with a neuropsychological test battery. Compared with AD-, AD+VS patients performed significantly better on tests of verbal memory and had great er impairment on tests of visuospatial skills, suggesting a distinct p attern of cognitive dysfunction consistent with metabolic and neuropat hologic reports.