View clinical trials related to Aphasia.
Filter by:The purpose of this study is to evaluate how changing conditions of speech-language treatment (namely, amount of repetition and distribution of practice schedule) affects the language outcome of participants with aphasia following a stroke. Using a computer based speech and language therapy program, participants will practice conversational scripts that are either short or long. Participants will practice for either 2 weeks (5 days a week) or for 5 weeks (2 days a week).
Most of us take being able to communicate for granted. Anomia (word finding problems) after stroke can cause profound frustration and anxiety for patients and families. Some people recover; many don't. ~ 250,000 people in the UK have chronic speech and language problems post-stroke. This project will investigate how treatment for these people might be improved. The brain's speech areas can be stimulated using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). The kit is simple; a battery powering electrodes placed on the scalp. Healthy people who had tDCS while naming pictures could find words quicker and their speech areas responded more efficiently. How it affects aphasic stroke patients' brain function is unknown.
Post-stroke aphasia (PSA), the partial or total loss of the ability to produce and/or understand language associated with stroke, is a highly prevalent and disabling disorder that negatively impacts the personal, social and working life of patients and families. Modern theory-based language therapies (LT) with proved efficacy in chronic PSA are brief (weeks), intensive, and oriented to specific domains (e.g., anomia). However, in order to maximize therapeutic benefits, it becomes essential to implement complementary strategies that boost gains in language, communication and behaviour and also to identify predictors of treatment response (demographics, anatomical) that enable to customize interventions adjusting them to each profile (linguistic deficits, brain structure and connectivity). Our group has repeatedly shown that LT combined with cognitive enhancing drugs (CED) (e.g., Donepezil and Memantine) are safe and promote better outcomes that when these interventions are administered separately. Moreover, non-invasive brain stimulation techniques (NIBS), such as transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), are also emerging as a promising treatment option for chronic PSA. However, is still unknown whether or not treatments that combine several biological strategies aid to improve outcomes further. Brain changes induced by these interventions and the premorbid characteristic of a "good responder" are also unknown. The aims of this clinical trial are: (1) Study the efficacy of combined treatments in a sample of patients with chronic PSA (n = 40); (2) Document with multimodal neuroimaging the functional and connectivity changes (neuroplasticity) promoted by these interventions; and (3) Identify linguistic, cognitive and behavioural variables that may predict outcomes for each intervention.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading neurodegenerative disease of aging characterized by multiple cognitive impairments. Given the recent failures of disease-modifying drugs, the current focus is on preventing or mitigating synaptic damage that correlates with cognitive decline in AD patients. Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) is a safe, non-invasive, non-painful electrical stimulation of the brain that is shown to act as a primer at the synaptic level when administered along with behavioral therapy, mostly involving language, learning and memory. Previous studies have shown that tDCS over the left angular gyrus (AG) improves language associative learning in the elderly through changes in functional connectivity between the AG and the hippocampus. The investigators' previous clinical trial on the effects of tDCS in neurodegenerative disorders has also shown augmented effects of lexical retrieval for tDCS. In the present study the investigators will compare the effects of active vs. sham tDCS over the AG-an area that is part of the default mode network but also a language area, particularly important for semantic integration and event processing-in two predominant AD variants: probable AD with amnesic phenotype (amnesic/typical AD) and probable AD with non-amnesic (language deficit) phenotype also described as logopenic variant PPA with AD pathology (aphasic/atypical AD). The investigators aim to: (1) determine whether active high-definition tDCS (HD-tDCS) targeting the left AG combined with a Word-List Learning Intervention (WordLLI) will improve verbal learning; (2) identify the changes in functional connectivity between the stimulated area (AG) and other structurally and functionally connected areas using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging; (3) identify changes in the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA at the stimulation site using magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Furthermore, the investigators need to determine the characteristics of the people that may benefit from the new neuromodulatory approaches. For this reason, the investigators will evaluate neural and cognitive functions as well as physiological characteristics such as sleep, and will analyze the moderating effects on verbal learning outcomes. Study results can help provide treatment alternatives as well as a better understanding of the therapeutic and neuromodulatory effects of tDCS in AD, thus improving patients' and caregivers' quality of life.
Rising life expectancy is leading to a rising incidence of strokes worldwide. Approximately one third of people who had a stroke live with a communication disorder, aphasia, which is associated with the largest negative relationship to quality of life. In chronic stages, people with aphasia (PwA) often do not receive any rehabilitation, despite treatment being shown to significantly reduce impairment. In contrast to existing computerized aphasia treatment, VoiceAdapt is an innovative and motivating application for PwA that provides adaptive and context-aware training lessons via speech interaction on the mobile device. A user-centred design process and motivational gamification ensure long-term engagement in training. Through providing an autonomously usable and low-cost tool, VoiceAdapt will positively affect PwA's self-esteem and social inclusion, leading to higher quality of life.
Many stroke survivors experience aphasia, a loss or impairment of language affecting the production or understanding of speech. One common type of aphasia is known as non-fluent aphasia. Patients with non-fluent aphasia have difficulty formulating grammatical sentences, often producing short word fragments despite having a good understanding of what others are trying to communicate to them. Speech language pathologists (SLPs) play a central role rehabilitating persons with aphasia and administer therapy in an attempt to improve communication skills. Despite standard therapy, approximately 50% of individuals who experience aphasia acutely continue to have language deficits more than 6 months post-stroke. In most people, Broca's area is dominant in the left side of the brain. Following a left-sided stroke, the right-sided homologue of Broca's area (the pars triangularis), may adopt language function. Unfortunately, reorganizing language to the right side of the brain seems to be less effective than restoring function to the left hemisphere. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a form of non-invasive brain stimulation, can be used to suppress activity of specific regions in the right side of the brain to promote recovery of function in the perilesional area. Despite preliminary success in existing studies using rTMS in post-stroke aphasia, there is much work to be done to better understand the mechanisms underlying recovery. Responses to rTMS have been positive, yet heterogenous, which may be related to timing of treatments following stroke.
The currently available interventions only partially restore language abilities in patients with post-stroke aphasia; preventing successful reintegration into society. This study will increase our knowledge of how we can use assistive technology interventions to help people with aphasia restore language function. Further, this project will help us identify regions of the brain responsible for these changes.
Up to now there is proven evidence of traditional logopedic therapy in aphasia, but recent computer-based algorithms also showed their evidence so far. Due to small and heterogenous study populations further trials are urgently needed. This prospective, randomized, clinical & experimental controlled noninvasive study is intended to provide data for the therapy of an individual approach in aphasia patients.
This study aims to evaluate, in communication tasks, the pragmatic effectiveness of the communication book in the general conditions of use and its maintenance in the implementation of the compensatory strategies of communication in severe aphasias.
This study proposes to use transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), a technique by which a very small electrical current (2 mA) is applied to the scalp, along side speech therapy in patients with subacute stroke and aphasia in order to enhance language recovery. Aphasic patients in an inpatient neurorehabilitation facility who have experienced a stroke between one week and three months prior to enrollment will be invited to participate. Participants will receive either real or sham tDCS to the left hemisphere of the brain for a minimum of 5 consecutive sessions to up-to a max of 10 sessions depending on the length of their rehab stay . Stimulation will be paired with with the patient's normal speech therapy schedule. Participant's language skills will be assessed at baseline and immediately after the last session of therapy in order to determine whether tDCS is associated with either transient or persistent improvement in language.