Impact of Group Participation on Adults With Aphasia
AphasiaAcquired4 moreThe purpose of the study is to examine the impact of group participation on adults with aphasia. Participants will complete a standard pre-and post-assessment of language abilities (speech, comprehension, reading, and/or writing). Then participants will attend 90-minute weekly reading group sessions during an academic semester.
Rehabilitation and Prophylaxis of Anomia in Primary Progressive Aphasia
AphasiaPrimary Progressive2 moreThe goal of this study is to remediate word-finding problems in patients who have Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) or Alzheimer's Disease and to delay the further progression of word-finding impairment. The current approach is novel in that it contains a prophylaxis component in which the investigators attempt to strengthen neural connections that remain functional, making them more resistant to degradation as the disease progresses. While the study is specific in its targeting of word-finding problems, a successful outcome would bode well for other studies aimed at prevention or reversal of declining cognitive functions in dementia. One set of participants with PPA will receive practice with picture naming in two conditions: viewing the picture and repeating the name; and viewing the picture with its written name, plus reading and writing the name. Another set of participants with PPA or Alzheimer's Disease will be trained in two different conditions: learning about the word's semantic features (meaning); and learning about the word's lexical features (letters and sounds). Naming of pictures trained in each of these conditions will be compared, at three time intervals post-training, with naming of pictures tested before the study but never trained. It is predicted that the pairing of the picture with its written name, combined with the motor task of writing the name, will result in a greater ability to name the picture at a later date than simple practice viewing the picture and repeating the name. Furthermore, it is predicted that participants who have difficulty understanding concepts will be more likely to respond to semantic treatment, while participants who have difficulty connecting words with concepts will be more likely to respond to lexical treatment.
Molecular and Structural Imaging in Atypical Alzheimer's Disease: A Longitudinal Study
Atypical Alzheimer's DiseaseLogopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA)1 moreThis is a neuroimaging study designed to learn more about amyloid and tau burden in the brain of patients with Atypical Alzheimer's Disease and how burden may change over a one year period.
CB3 Pilot (Communication Bridge: A Person-centered Internet-based Intervention for Individuals With...
AphasiaPrimary Progressive Aphasia3 moreThis study will evaluate evidence-based treatments for adults with mild Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). The aim of the study is to help identify efficacious communication and quality of life interventions for those with PPA and their care-partners. Participants with a diagnosis of PPA and their actively-engaged care partners will be involved in the study for 12 months. Each participant will receive a iPad equipped with the necessary applications and features for the study. Participants will complete evaluations, speech therapy sessions with a speech and language therapist, and sessions with a licensed social worker or related clinician. They will have access to Communication Bridge, a personalized web application to practice home exercises that reinforce treatment strategies. There are no costs to participate in this study.
Assessment of Hyperphosphorylated Tau PET Binding in Primary Progressive Aphasia and Frontotemporal...
Primary Progressive AphasiaBehavioral Variant of Frontotemporal Dementia2 moreThis study is designed to learn more about overall tau burden in the brain of patients with Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and Frontotemporal Dementia.
TMS for the Treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia
Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive AphasiaNon-fluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia1 morePrimary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) is a progressive syndrome in the family of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders involving devastating language impairments caused by selective neurodegeneration of the brain's language network. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for PPA. An exciting possibility for treatment is non-invasive repetitive transcranial brain stimulation (rTMS), which induces electric currents in degenerating brain networks, making them in some cases more efficient. Therapeutic benefits from rTMS have been demonstrated when it is applied in many sequential sessions. For example, repeated sessions of rTMS to left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) is approved by the US Food and Drug administration as a treatment for major depressive disorder. With respect to language, high frequency rTMS increases the response rate for picture naming in healthy individuals and in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Further, in a sham controlled study, Cotelli and colleagues demonstrated that in a group of 10 non-fluent PPA patients, high frequency rTMS over the left and right dlPFC improved the percent of correct responses for action naming. When rTMS was applied for five consecutive days in a sham controlled single case study, Finocchiaro and colleagues showed lasting improvements in language (up to 1 week) in a patient with non-fluent PPA. Trebbastoni and colleagues further showed the same lasting improvements in language (up to 1 week) in a patient with logopenic PPA. Recently, in a sham controlled single case study, Bereau and colleagues applied a more intense rTMS protocol for ten consecutive days and demonstrated significant linguistic improvements in a logopenic PPA patient that lasted for 1 month. These studies have contributed valuable insights into the potential use of rTMS in treating the language symptoms of PPA patients.
High-frequency nrTMS on the Contralateral Broca Mirror Area for Glioma Patients With Early Postoperative...
Non-fluent AphasiaGliomaThe goal of this randomized clinical controlled trial is to determine whether the application of high frequency neuronavigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (nrTMS) on the contralateral of Broca's area can ameliorate glioma patients's non-fluent aphasia after tumor resection. The questions this trial is aiming to answer are: Whether the nrTMS can ameliorate glioma patients' postoperative language impairements. if yes, how effective nrTMS is for improving glioma patients' postoperative language function.
Effect of Communication Partner Training Program for the Management of Persons With Aphasia
AphasiaCommunication Partner Training (CPT) is an evidence-based intervention that teaches communication partners (e.g., family members, friends, healthcare workers) how to best support conversation and interaction for a person with aphasia. It does not matter how mild or severe a person's aphasia is, they can be a good candidate for CPT as long as their communication partner is motivated and willing to adapt their communication style. The objective of this study is to see the effects of communication partner training for the management of persons with aphasia. A randomized controlled trial will be conducted. In total, 6 dyads will be randomly assigned to the intervention (CPT program) or usual care (control) group. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) V 25. will be used for Data analysis. Results will be extracted. Conclusion will be made after comparing the pre and post treatment results on person with aphasia.
pBFS-guided cTBS Combined With iTBS Over the Superior Frontal Gyrus for Aphasia After Ischemic Stroke...
StrokeIschemic1 moreThe current study aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pBFS-guided cTBS combined with iTBS for the rehabilitation of language functions in patients with post-ischemic stroke aphasia.
Effects of Verb Network Strenghtening Treatment (VNeST) Via Telerehabilitation on Word Finding in...
AphasiaAnomia1 moreDespite evidence showing that speech and language intervention may improve language and communication abilities in people with acquired language disorders (aphasia), there is still need for evidence for which types of therapy are effective. Further, to improve accessibility of care, there is increasing need for evidence of intervention effects when therapy is provided online, via telerehabilitation. Therefore, the project aims at evaluating the effects of telerehabilitation with a specific speech-language therapy intervention for improving word-finding in individuals with aphasia due to stroke. The intervention Verb Network Strenghtening Treatment (VNeST) trains word finding at sentence level, and the treatment effect is expected to generalize to the production of connected speech.