Aphasia News and Research

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Speech language therapy delivered online provides comparable improvements as in-person treatment

Telerehabilitation helps healthcare professionals reach more patients in need, but some worry it doesn't offer the same quality of care as in-person treatment. This isn't the case, according to recent research by Baycrest.

21 Jul 2017

Insomnia drug appears to have opposite effect for patients with neurologic conditions

In a new systematic review in JAMA Neurology, Michigan Medicine researchers found reason to further explore the surprising effects of zolpidem that have been observed outside the scope of its primary Food and Drug Administration approval.

27 Jun 2017

SDSU neuroscientist explores how the brain works to retrieve correct word from memory

When you look at a picture of a mug, the neurons that store your memory of what a mug is begin firing. But it's not a pinpoint process; a host of neurons that code for related ideas and items--bowl, coffee, spoon, plate, breakfast--are activated as well.

20 Jun 2017

Study findings suggest how progranulin deficiency causes frontotemporal dementia

In a recent study in Human Molecular Genetics, researchers from VIB and KU Leuven led by prof. Philip Van Damme, reveal a novel function for progranulin in lysosomes: it acts as chaperone of the lysosomal protease cathepsin D. The results were obtained in collaboration with Prof. Paul Saftig from the University of Kiel.

8 May 2017

Researcher develops new language intervention to help treat patients with rare form of dementia

A Baycrest Health Sciences researcher and clinician has developed the first group language intervention that helps individuals losing the ability to speak due to a rare form of dementia, and could help patients maintain their communication abilities for longer.

4 May 2017

Aphasia may not solely be a language issue as traditionally believed, study shows

Aphasia, a language disorder commonly diagnosed in stroke patients, may not be solely a language issue as traditionally believed, according to a Penn State study.

30 Mar 2017

Clinician-scientist wins annual award for excellence in behavioral neurology research

Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurology and rehabilitation medicine, and director of the Cognitive Recovery Lab, has been chosen by an international society of neurologists to receive its annual award for excellence in behavioral neurology research.

14 Mar 2017

Brain plasticity after injury: an interview with Dr Swathi Kiran

Brain plasticity is the phenomenon by which the brain can rewire and reorganize itself in response to changing stimulus input. Brain plasticity is at play when one is learning new information (at school) or learning a new language...

3 Nov 2016

Novel telemedicine speech therapy could improve dementia patient’s ability to recall words

A novel telemedicine speech therapy program for people with language problems due to dementia significantly improved their ability to recall words they had "lost," reports a new Northwestern Medicine study

25 Oct 2016

Memory loss symptoms not sufficient to diagnose other forms of Alzheimer's

Relying on clinical symptoms of memory loss to diagnose Alzheimer's disease may miss other forms of dementia caused by Alzheimer's that don't initially affect memory, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

13 Sep 2016

Multi-user virtual reality world can improve communication in stroke survivors with aphasia

A virtual reality world called EVA Park can improve the communication of those who have impaired speech and language following a stroke, according to research by academics at City University London.

12 Aug 2016

Researchers explore effectiveness of neurorehabilitation for individuals with brain injury or stroke

In the current issue of NeuroRehabilitation leading researchers explore the effectiveness of several neurorehabilitation treatments for individuals with brain injury or stroke. A number of published articles have covered the issue of efficacy of neurorehabilitation, but only a few have discussed the issue of effectiveness.

20 Jul 2016

Connectome imaging could help predict severity of language deficits after stoke

Loss or impairment of the ability to speak is one of the most feared complications of stroke--one faced by about 20% of stroke patients. Language, as one of the most complex functions of the brain, is not seated in a single brain region but involves connections between many regions.

11 Jul 2016

Memory test offers clue to pathological diagnosis in primary progressive aphasia

Patients with primary progressive aphasia show selective vulnerabilities in effortless learning and delayed retrieval of verbal information if their syndrome is related to Alzheimer's disease rather than frontotemporal lobar degeneration, research indicates.

18 May 2016

Right brain predicts post-stroke speech recovery

White matter integrity in the right hemisphere may help to predict speech fluency recovery following a stroke, research indicates.

5 Apr 2016

Right side of the brain reorganizes itself after stroke to help recover speech-motor functions

New research suggests that looking at structures in the right side of the brain may help predict who will better recover from language problems after a stroke, according to a study published in Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

31 Mar 2016

Research provides important new insights into beginning stages of primary progressive aphasia

The recent ability to peer into the brain of living individuals with a rare type of language dementia, primary progressive aphasia (PPA), provides important new insights into the beginning stages of this disease -- which results in language loss -- when it is caused by a buildup of a toxic protein found in Alzheimer's disease.

8 Mar 2016

Damage to language network structural hubs can affect severity of aphasia following stroke

When brain regions that control speech and reading comprehension are destroyed due to blockage of blood flow, patients are often unable to speak or comprehend spoken or written language. These difficulties with language, or "aphasia," are a common symptom in the aftermath of stroke. However, in a new study published in Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, researchers report that damage to the underlying connections among different areas of the brain can also affect the severity of aphasia.

23 Feb 2016

Mayo Clinic researchers uncover clues to apraxia of speech

It may start with a simple word you can't pronounce. Your tongue and lips stumble, and gibberish comes out. Misspeaking might draw a chuckle from family and friends. But, then, it keeps happening. Progressively, more and more speech is lost. Some patients eventually become mute from primary progressive apraxia of speech, a disorder related to degenerative neurologic disease.

15 Feb 2016

New analysis method may help categorise stroke patients with language problem

Brain researcher Karsten Specht has found a new method of analysis to distinguish between stroke patients with language problem. The result may be individualised treatment for each patient.

3 Feb 2016