Severity of Post-stroke Aphasia According to Aphasia Type and Lesion Location in Koreans

• Published in: Journal of Korean medical science Vol. 25; no. 1; pp. 123 - 127
• Main Authors: Kang, Eun Kyoung, Sohn, Hae Min, Han, Moon-Ku, Kim, Won, Han, Tai Ryoon, Paik, Nam-Jong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences 01.01.2010; 대한의학회
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anomia - etiology; Anomia - pathology; Aphasia - classification; Aphasia - etiology; Aphasia - pathology; Aphasia, Broca - diagnosis; Aphasia, Broca - etiology; Aphasia, Broca - pathology; Aphasia, Wernicke - diagnosis; Aphasia, Wernicke - etiology; Aphasia, Wernicke - pathology; Cluster Analysis; Disability Evaluation; Female; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Middle Aged; Original; Republic of Korea; Retrospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Stroke - complications; Stroke - pathology; Time Factors; 의학일반; Republic of Korea; Aphasia; Stroke; Classification
• ISSN: 1011-8934; 1598-6357; 1598-6357
• DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2010.25.1.123

To determine the relations between post-stroke aphasia severity and aphasia type and lesion location, a retrospective review was undertaken using the medical records of 97 Korean patients, treated within 90 days of onset, for aphasia caused by unilateral left hemispheric stroke. Types of aphasia were classified according to the validated Korean version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB), and severities of aphasia were quantified using WAB Aphasia Quotients (AQ). Lesion locations were classified as cortical or subcortical, and were determined by magnetic resonance imaging. Two-step cluster analysis was performed using AQ values to classify aphasia severity by aphasia type and lesion location. Cluster analysis resulted in four severity clusters: 1) mild; anomic type, 2) moderate; Wernicke's, transcortical motor, transcortical sensory, conduction, and mixed transcortical types, 3) moderately severe; Broca's aphasia, and 4) severe; global aphasia, and also in three lesion location clusters: 1) mild; subcortical 2) moderate; cortical lesions involving Broca's and/or Wernicke's areas, and 3) severe; insular and cortical lesions not in Broca's or Wernicke's areas. These results revealed that within 3 months of stroke, global aphasia was the more severely affected type and cortical lesions were more likely to affect language function than subcortical lesions.