View clinical trials related to Aphasia, Acquired.
Filter by:Aphasia in brain-damaged adult patients refers "to the more or less complete loss of the ability to use language" resulting from acquired brain damage, typically of the left hemisphere. The defective spoken output of persons with aphasia (PWA) has anomia as a main clinical manifestation. Improving anomia is a main goal of any language treatment. The present randomized controlled study assessed the effectiveness of a novel, two-week, rehabilitation protocol (PHOLEXSEM), focused on PHonological, SEmantic, and LExical deficits, aiming at improving lexical retrieval, and, generally, spoken output. The effects of the PHOLEXSEM treatment were compared to those of a control treatment, i.e., a Promoting Aphasics Communicative Effectiveness (PACE) protocol. Finally, we studied the effects of age, education, disease duration, brain lesion volume, and functional independence (Functional Idependence Measure, FIM) on the treatment-induced linguistic improvements.
Background and aim There is a growing awareness that people with aphasia (language problems) after a stroke often have difficulties with their short-term memory (STM). As a result, the explanation underlying aphasia has recently been seen as a language processing disorder, where multiple cognitive processes interact. To evaluate the cognitive processes underlying aphasia, there is a need for reliable and valid assessment tools. However, the quality of tests usually used to assess STM problems in aphasia patients is questioned because they are not specifically designed to be used in aphasia patients. This raises some concern, as impairments of STM can be predictive for the recovery and rehabilitation of aphasia patients. As an important exception, a recent study has developed a new English evaluation tool (i.e., The Temple Assessment of Language and (Verbal) Short-term Memory in Aphasia; TALSA) that examines language and STM aspects specifically developed for persons with aphasia. However, the existence of a Dutch evaluation tool specifically designed to assess language and STM problems in people with aphasia after a stroke is lacking. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to develop a Dutch clinical version of the TALSA battery that may lead to better diagnosis and treatment of STM problems in persons with aphasia. The development of the test focuses on its clinical feasibility (e.g. test duration, difficulty of the items and response modality). Pilot testing of the Dutch STM assessment instrument in the clinical and healthy population is very important to adapt the test where necessary. In addition, the quality of the test should also be carefully evaluated. Method The first step towards the development of a Dutch STM assessment instrument is the careful selection of the most crucial subtests of the original TALSA battery. Not all subtests will be selected due to the long testing time of the TALSA battery, and as mentioned earlier, the Dutch STM assessment tool focuses on clinical feasibility of the test. The second step is pilot testing the Dutch STM assessment instrument in persons with aphasia and healthy persons. Persons with aphasia will be recruited at the Stroke unit of Ghent University Hospital. All eligible patients will be asked to provide written informed consent to participate in this study. Three tests will be administered, namely the Oxford Cognitive Screen, the Token Test and the Dutch STM assessment tool. It is important that these tests are taken on the same day or on two consecutive days, depending on the circumstances (e.g. fatigue). The Token Test and Oxford Cognitive Screen provide a picture of the patient's cognitive profile. Throughout the process of pilot testing, the Dutch STM assessment tool will be adapted and improved where necessary. In order to verify or adjust the difficulty of the items, it is crucial that the STM assessment instrument is also tested on a small number of healthy control subjects (recruited via social media platforms).
The purpose of this study is to test the feasibility and acceptability of an online exercise program for community-dwelling individuals with aphasia, a language disorder resulting from brain damage. Physical activity, language, cognitive, and quality of life outcomes will be collected to assess potential effectiveness.
People with post-stroke aphasia (PWA) suffer from anomia, a condition where they know what they want to say but cannot retrieve the words. For PWA, word retrieval changes moment-to-moment, leading to diminished motivation to participate in conversations and disengagement from social interactions. In the real world, anomia variability and severity are compounded by contextual factors of communication exchanges (noise, dual-tasking). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) involves in-situ measurement of a behavior over time during everyday life. EMA has promise for capturing real-world anomia, yet EMA methods have not been tested in PWA. Therefore, the aims of this pilot study are to (1) determine the relative feasibility of two types of smartwatch-delivered EMA (traditional-EMA and micro-EMA) in PWA and (2) determine the extent to which patient-specific factors relate to feasibility. Twenty PWA will be recruited and randomly assigned to either traditional-EMA or micro-EMA conditions. To target in-situ anomia, PWA will complete 36 picture-naming trials/day for three weeks, delivered either as a single trial 36 times per day (micro-EMA) or in four sets of nine trials/set per day (traditional-EMA). Due to the "at-a-glance" single trial delivery of micro-EMA, the investigators hypothesize that PWA in the micro-EMA condition will demonstrate better protocol adherence than PWA in the traditional-EMA condition. Older age, more severe cognitive-linguistic deficits, and greater discomfort with technology will be related to poorer compliance, lower completion, greater perceived burden, and lower intelligibility of naming audio recordings. This bench-to-bedside research will begin a translational path to implement EMA/micro-EMA into routine assessment of aphasia.
Spaced Repetition training has been found to be more effective than massed repetition for individuals with aphasia. This study seeks to examine the relative efficiency of three kinds of spacing for picture-naming training: traditional random presentation, non-adaptive spaced repetition, and adaptive spaced repetition.
Given the evolving uses of technology in rehabilitation, the investigators aimed to measure the change in aphasia severity using PCT App, a digital therapeutic adapted from Constant Therapy (CT), a dynamic, personalized therapy program for people with cognitive, speech, or language disorders. The entire study, including recruitment, enrollment, assessment and treatment were conducted remotely. The proposed pilot study seeks to compare performance of PCT therapy vs. conventional workbook intervention for stroke patients. The investigators hypothesize that the experimental (PCT) group will experience greater gains on the WAB-AQ at follow-up compared to baseline compared to a control (workbook) group. Subjects were prospectively assigned to an experimental or active control group in a random order with both groups balanced for their baseline level of speech, language and/or cognitive ability: 1. Experimental Group: Participants were instructed to use PCT for at least 30 minutes/day, 5 days/week. Performance and usage data were automatically reported by the PCT software to the treating clinician and was used to modify task assignment over time and monitor participant adherence to the treatment program. 2. Active Control Group: Participants were provided with a standard regime of paper workbooks (e.g. Workbook for Aphasia; Brubaker, 2006) that are typically used by clinicians with persons with aphasia (PWA) for at least 30 minutes/day, 5 days/week. Notably, the control procedure employed here is similar to a large-scale study examining technology as a treatment option by Palmer and colleagues (2015). The treatment period was 10 weeks. All participants received a bimonthly check-in through video-chat with a member of the research staff during the treatment period.
This study will investigate the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), a non-invasive brain stimulation method, to improve word-finding abilities in Veterans and non-Veterans with chronic language problems following stroke (aphasia). Improving word-finding is important because word-finding difficulties are among the most common and debilitating consequences of aphasia. Although rTMS has shown promise as a treatment approach, not all individuals with aphasia show the same level of benefit. Specifically, this study will use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether the likelihood of improved word-finding abilities following rTMS depends on pre-intervention language-related brain activity and will examine changes in brain activity in response to stimulation. A better understanding of how and for whom rTMS works will 1) help to identify the best candidates for rTMS treatment, 2) optimize rTMS treatment protocols to improve patient outcomes, and 3) improve the investigators' understanding of how the brain re-organizes language functions following stroke.
Linguistic training is traditionally the gold standard for rehabilitation of aphasia after stroke and efficacy criteria count early stage, intensity as well as personalized treatment. To date, no clear evidence showed a specific effect of any therapy in the acute phase of aphasia after stroke. This study aims to compare the effect of a combined therapy (linguistic/communication) versus a linguistic therapy on communication performance in patients in the acute phase of aphasia after a first stroke.
The purpose of the proposed research is to examine the effects of two treatment approaches on speech production involving speakers with chronic apraxia of speech (AOS) and aphasia. The planned investigation is designed to examine the acquisition, maintenance and generalization effects of each treatment. One approach, electropalatography (EPG) uses visual biofeedback in conjunction with articulatory-kinematic treatment and the other approach, sound production treatment (SPT) is one of the most systematically studied articulatory-kinematic treatments for AOS.