# Proper name anomia in people with Alzheimer’s disease: implications for diagnosis and treatment—a systematic review

## TL;DR

This review explores how trouble recalling proper names is common in Alzheimer’s disease and can appear early, with insights into diagnosis and treatment options.

## Contribution

The study systematically reviews the cognitive stages of proper name retrieval failure in Alzheimer’s and evaluates treatment effectiveness.

## Key findings

- Proper name retrieval difficulties occur in 40% of Alzheimer’s patients due to retrieval stage breakdown.
- PNA can serve as an early indicator of Alzheimer’s disease.
- Behavioral treatments like vanishing cues and spaced retrieval help patients with retrieval-stage naming issues.

## Abstract

Proper name anomia (PNA) is a common experience that can become unpleasantly amplified in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this systematic review, we discuss the key cognitive stages where naming can fail: facial recognition, person-specific semantics, and proper-name retrieval. We examine claims that PNA is an early indicator of AD and review studies that have attempted to treat PNA in individuals with AD. Twenty-two eligible studies were included. The main findings are that individuals with AD frequently experience difficulties in recalling proper names at any point in the disease process, with the distribution of functional breakdown between the three key cognitive stages involved in successful naming being: facial recognition (19%), person-specific semantics (30%), and proper-name retrieval (40%). PNA can be an early manifestation of AD. Effective behavioural treatments are available for those whose naming difficulties occur at the retrieval stage, including trial-by-trial practice using vanishing cues and spaced retrieval. We also provide clinical recommendations regarding the diagnosis and treatment of PNA.