POST-STROKE WRITING AND READING DISORDERS

• Published in: Sanamed Vol. 8; no. 1; pp. 55 - 63
• Main Authors: Sinanović Osman, Mrkonjić Zamir
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Association of medical doctors Sanamed Novi Pazar 01.01.2013
• Subjects: acalculia; agraphia; alexia; stroke
• ISSN: 1452-662X; 2217-8171

The writing and reading disorders in stroke patients (alexias, agraphias and acalculias) are more frequent than verified in routine exam, not only in the less developed but also in large neurological departments. Alexia is an acquired type of sensory aphasia where damage to the brain causes a patient to lose the ability to read. It is also called word blindness, text blindness orvisual aphasia. Alexia refers to an acquired inability to read caused by brain damage and must be distinguished from dyslexia, a developmental abnormality in which the individual is unable to learn to read, and from illiteracy, which reflects a poor educational back-ground. Most aphasics are also alexic, but alexia may occur in the absence of aphasia and may occasionally be the soledisability resulting from specific brain lesions. There are different classifications of alexias. Traditionally, the alexias are divided into three categories: pure alexia with agraphia, pure alexia without agraphia, and alexia associated with aphasia (“aphasic alexia”). Agraphia is defined as the disruption of previously intact writing skills by brain damage. Writing involves several elements—language processing, spelling, visual perception, visual-spatial orientation for graphic symbols, motor planning, and motor control of writing. A disturbance of any of these processes can impair writing. Agraphia may occur by itself or as association with aphasias, alexia, agnosia and apraxia. Agraphia can also result from “peripheral” involvement of the motor act of writing. Like alexia, agraphia must be distinguished from illiteracy, where writing skills were never developed. Acalculia is a clinical syndrome of acquired deficits in mathematical calculation, either mentally or with paper and pencil. This language disturbances can be classified differently, but there are three principal types of acalculia: acalculia associated with language disturbances, including number paraphasia, number agraphia, or number alexia; acalculia secondary to visual-spatial dysfunction with malalignment of numbers and columns, and a primary anarithmetria entailing disruption of the computation process.