Recovery from moderate aphasia in the first year poststroke: Effect of type of therapy

• Published in: Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation Vol. 82; no. 8; pp. 1073 - 1080
• Main Authors: Carlomagno, Sergio, Pandolfi, Maria, Labruna, Ludovica, Colombo, Anna, Razzano, Carmelina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.08.2001; Elsevier
• Subjects: Activities of Daily Living; Adult; Analysis of Variance; Aphasia; Aphasia - diagnosis; Aphasia - etiology; Aphasia - rehabilitation; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebrovascular accident; Communication; Cross-Over Studies; Diseases of the nervous system; Female; Humans; Italy; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Radiotherapy. Instrumental treatment. Physiotherapy. Reeducation. Rehabilitation, orthophony, crenotherapy. Diet therapy and various other treatments (general aspects); Reading; Rehabilitation; Stroke - complications; Writing; Italy; Reading; Neuropsychological tests; Aphasia; Cerebrovascular accident; Writing; Italy; Rehabilitation; Human; Nervous system diseases; Stroke; Cardiovascular disease; Physical rehabilitation; Language disorder; Cerebral disorder; Vascular disease; Hand writing; Functional recovery; Central nervous system disease; Complication; Neurological disorder; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 0003-9993; 1532-821X
• DOI: 10.1053/apmr.2001.25155

Carlomagno S, Pandolfi M, Labruna L, Colombo A, Razzano C. Recovery from moderate aphasia in the first year poststroke: effect of type of therapy. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2001;82:1073-80. Objectives: (1) To determine whether 2 model-based remediation programs affect writing performance in unselected subjects with moderate aphasia and whether there is consequent improvement in everyday life, and (2) to interpret the potential changes observed by recourse to a theoretical model. Design: Consecutive sample, multiple baseline, within subject crossover study. Setting: Ambulatory care units. Participants: Eight subjects with moderate aphasia from 6 to 12 months postonset. Intervention: A standardized test for reading and writing skills was given at the beginning and the end of each therapy program and 1 month after therapy stopped. Main Outcome Measures: Functional outcome measures were the Communicative Abilities in Daily Living (CADL) test and subtests from standardized aphasia assessment. Results: After the 2 programs, there was improved writing performance, which was maintained after therapy stopped. Patterns of improvement corresponded to each of the 2 programs. Learning transfer was observed on the CADL test and functional writing, but gains on oral language were limited. Only 1 program was effective for 6 of the 8 patients. Conclusion: Specific rehabilitation programs aid recovery from aphasic symptoms from 6 to 12 months postonset. Individual response is linked to type of treatment. The interpretation is linked to a model-based description of aphasic symptoms and mechanisms of functional recovery. © 2001 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation