[Course of recovery from motor aphasia in four patients with localized lesions in the vicinity of Broca's area].
The neuropsychological signs and prognosis of patients with localized lesions in the vicinity of Broca's area of the left inferior frontal gyrus have been controversial. We studied periodic changes in the neuropsychological signs of four patients who had relatively localized lesions in the vicinity of Broca's area and manifested aphasia of the non-fluent type. The ages of the four patients at the onset were 62, 66, 30 and 37 years. The localized lesions in their brains were the result of brain infarctions revealed by CT scans, and included so-called Broca's center in the left inferior frontal gyrus along with adjacent brain tissue. The neuropsychological signs of the four patients were periodically assessed by means of the standard language test of aphasia (SLTA). In the early stage of aphasia, they had moderate difficulties in speaking to explain test materials or recall words and mild difficulties in reading aloud, repeating and writing words. One year later, most of their neuropsychological signs disappeared except for mild difficulties in speaking fluently and recalling words. It should be noted, however, that all four patients were able to return to their previous occupations one or two years later, because they had recovered from aphasia. Based on the results of this study, we conclude that the neuropsychological signs of Broca's aphasia caused by relatively localized lesions in the left inferior frontal gyrus are mild and largely disappear within one or two years.
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Teikyo University School of Medicine, Tokyo.
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Y
Kojima
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Kaga
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001039:Aphasia, Broca / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology*; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011379:Prognosis