[Present status and future possibilities of adjuvant pharmacotherapy for aphasia].
Aphasia is one of the most frequent and disabling consequences of stroke. Poor spontaneous recovery and the limited success of conventional speech therapy bring up the question of how current treatment approaches can be improved. Besides increasing training frequency-with daily sessions lasting several hours and high repetition rates of language materials ("massed training")-adjuvant drug therapy may help to increase therapy efficacy. In this article, we illuminate the potential of monoaminergic (bromocriptine, levodopa, d-amphetamine) and cholinergic (donepezil) substances for treating aphasia. For a final evaluation of combined massed training and adjuvant pharmacotherapy, randomized, placebo-controlled (multicenter) clinical trials with sufficient numbers of patients are needed. Furthermore, results of experimental animal studies of functional recovery in brain damage raise hopes that neurotrophic factors or stem cells might find a place in recovery from aphasia in the intermediate future.
Korsukewitz
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C
Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie, Universität Münster. korsukew@uni-muenster.de
Breitenstein
C
C
Schomacher
M
M
Knecht
S
S
D001037:Aphasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D015306:Biogenic Monoamines / Q000819:agonists* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects; D018678:Cholinergic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D006801:Humans; D020243:Infarction, Anterior Cerebral Artery / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D020244:Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007808:Language Therapy; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation
D015306:Biogenic Monoamines; D018678:Cholinergic Agents; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D018697:Nootropic Agents