Subcortical Aphasia After Stroke

• Published in: Annals of rehabilitation medicine Vol. 41; no. 5; pp. 725 - 733
• Main Authors: Kang, Eun Kyoung, Sohn, Hae Min, Han, Moon-Ku, Paik, Nam-Jong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine 01.10.2017; 대한재활의학회
• Subjects: Original; 재활의학; Aphasia; Language tests; Basal ganglia; Stroke; Association; Cerebrovascular disease
• ISSN: 2234-0645; 2234-0653
• DOI: 10.5535/arm.2017.41.5.725

To evaluate the types and severity of subcortical aphasia after stroke and to determine the predictors of the degree of aphasic impairment. Medical records of 38 patients with post-stroke subcortical aphasia (19 males; mean age, 61.7±13.8 years) were reviewed retrospectively with respect to the following tests: the Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB), the Korean version of the Modified Barthel Index (K-MBI), and the Fugl-Meyer Index (FMI). The severity of aphasia was evaluated by the aphasia quotient (AQ) and the language quotient (LQ). Anomic aphasia was the most frequent type of aphasia (n=15, 39.5%), and the lesion most frequently observed in subcortical aphasia was located in the basal ganglia (n=19, 50.0%). Patients with lesions in the basal ganglia exhibited the lowest scores on the FMI for the upper extremities (p=0.04). Severity of aphasia was significantly correlated with the K-MBI (Pearson correlation coefficient: γ=0.45, p=0.01 for AQ and γ=0.53, p=0.01 for LQ) and FMI scores for the lower extremities (γ=0.43, p=0.03 for AQ and γ=0.49, p=0.05 for LQ). In a multivariate logistic regression analysis, K-MBI remained the only explanatory variable closely associated with aphasia severity. This study showed the general characteristics of post-stroke subcortical aphasia, and it revealed that K-MBI was an associated and explanatory factor for aphasia severity.