The Dutch Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE-NL): findings in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA).
16 affiliations
- 1Experimental Neurobiology Unit, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- 2VIB Center for Molecular Neurology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
- 3Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- 4Department of Neuroscience, City St George's, University of London, London, UK.
- 5ALS Center Netherlands, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- 6Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
- 7Centrum voor Neuropsychologie, Antwerp, Belgium.
- 8Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- 9Department of Neurology, Alzheimer Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC Location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
- 10Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- 11Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- 12Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
- 13Neurology Department, Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), Antwerp, Belgium.
- 14Experimental Neurobiology Unit, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. [email protected].
- 15Neurology Department, Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), Antwerp, Belgium. [email protected].
- 16Department of Neurology and Alzheimer Center, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. [email protected].
Abstract
State of the art
Changes in speech and language occur as the first symptoms of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). The Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE) is a short speech and language screening test used in the diagnostic process of PPA in English-speaking patients. We adapted the MLSE into Dutch (MLSE-NL) and validated this new version as a diagnostic screening tool in Dutch-speaking patients.Methodology
We assessed the MLSE-NL in 90 Dutch-speaking patients with PPA (nonfluent variant PPA (nfvPPA) n = 23, logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA) n = 24, semantic variant PPA (svPPA) n = 32, PPA Not Otherwise Specified (PPA-NOS) n = 11) (mean age: 68.3, 47.8% male) and 276 healthy volunteers (mean age: 56.3, 38.8% male). The MLSE-NL includes subscores in motor speech, phonological structure, semantic knowledge, syntax, and working memory. Group differences were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis tests, with linear models controlling for covariates as confirmatory analyses.Results
The MLSE-NL shows significantly lower scores for all PPA variants for total score, ranging from 30 to 96/100 in patients and 83 to 100/100 in controls. The AUC for total score was 0.99 (subdomain AUCs ranged from 0.80 to 0.92). nfvPPA had more motor speech errors than controls, svPPA had more semantic errors, while lvPPA had the most working memory deficits. Syntax errors were frequent in all variants, while phonological deficits were greater in lvPPA and nfvPPA. PPA-NOS had deficits in all domains aside from motor speech.Conclusions
The MLSE-NL can successfully discriminate the three canonical variants of PPA and PPA-NOS from controls and captures domain-specific neurolinguistic profiles.
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BibTeX
@article{coppieters2026dutch,
title = {{The Dutch Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE-NL): findings in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA).}},
author = {Rosie Coppieters and Nikki Janssen and Peter Garrard and Fenna Hiemstra and Annelien Duits and Mattias De Coninck and Stéphanie De Keulenaer and Ian Storey and Vitória Piai and Johan Renssen and Carla Ruis and Harro Seelaar and Esther van den Berg and Sara Van Mossevelde and Rose Bruffaerts and Lize Jiskoot},
journal = {Journal of neurology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1007/s00415-026-14203-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909640},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Dutch Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE-NL): findings in Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA).
AU - Rosie Coppieters
AU - Nikki Janssen
AU - Peter Garrard
AU - Fenna Hiemstra
AU - Annelien Duits
AU - Mattias De Coninck
AU - Stéphanie De Keulenaer
AU - Ian Storey
AU - Vitória Piai
AU - Johan Renssen
AU - Carla Ruis
AU - Harro Seelaar
AU - Esther van den Berg
AU - Sara Van Mossevelde
AU - Rose Bruffaerts
AU - Lize Jiskoot
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Journal of neurology
DO - 10.1007/s00415-026-14203-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909640
AB - State of the art Changes in speech and language occur as the first symptoms of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). The Mini-Linguistic State Examination (MLSE) is a short speech and language screening test used in the diagnostic process of PPA in English-speaking patients. We adapted the MLSE into Dutch (MLSE-NL) and validated this new version as a diagnostic screening tool in Dutch-speaking patients.Methodology We assessed the MLSE-NL in 90 Dutch-speaking patients with PPA (nonfluent variant PPA (nfvPPA) n = 23, logopenic variant PPA (lvPPA) n = 24, semantic variant PPA (svPPA) n = 32, PPA Not Otherwise Specified (PPA-NOS) n = 11) (mean age: 68.3, 47.8% male) and 276 healthy volunteers (mean age: 56.3, 38.8% male). The MLSE-NL includes subscores in motor speech, phonological structure, semantic knowledge, syntax, and working memory. Group differences were assessed using Kruskal-Wallis tests, with linear models controlling for covariates as confirmatory analyses.Results The MLSE-NL shows significantly lower scores for all PPA variants for total score, ranging from 30 to 96/100 in patients and 83 to 100/100 in controls. The AUC for total score was 0.99 (subdomain AUCs ranged from 0.80 to 0.92). nfvPPA had more motor speech errors than controls, svPPA had more semantic errors, while lvPPA had the most working memory deficits. Syntax errors were frequent in all variants, while phonological deficits were greater in lvPPA and nfvPPA. PPA-NOS had deficits in all domains aside from motor speech.Conclusions The MLSE-NL can successfully discriminate the three canonical variants of PPA and PPA-NOS from controls and captures domain-specific neurolinguistic profiles.
SN - 0340-5354
SN - 1432-1459
ER -