New Therapeutic Approaches for Treating Aphasia
Pharmacotherapy is a new, experimental approach to treating aphasia. Some studies are testing how drugs can be used in combination with speech therapy to improve recovery of various language functions by increasing the task-related flow of activation in the left hemisphere of the brain. These studies indicate that drugs may help improve aphasia in acute stroke and as an adjuvant to language therapy in postacute and chronic aphasia.
Other treatment approaches use computers to improve the language abilities of people with aphasia. Studies have shown that computer-assisted therapy can help people with aphasia retrieve and produce verbs. People who have auditory problems perceiving the difference between phonemes can benefit from computers, which can be used for speech-therapeutic auditory discrimination exercises.
Researchers are also looking at how treatment of other cognitive deficits involving attention and memory can improve communication deficits.
- Who has aphasia?
- Types of Aphasia
- Aphasia Treatment
- New Approaches to Evaluation
- New Approaches to Characterization
- New Therapeutic Approaches
- A Closer Look at the Brain
If you have any questions or comments on senior health nutrition, fitness, etc., go to the Senior Health Forum where we are talking about the following:
The information contained in these pages
is for educational / reference use only.
Sources:
National Institutes of Health
Graphics:
Public Domain
