Treatment of Primary Progressive Aphasia

Abstract

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects language functions and often begins in the fifth or sixth decade of life. The devastating effects on work and home life call for the investigation of treatment alternatives. In this paper, we present a review of the literature on treatment approaches for this neurodegenerative disease. We also present new data from two intervention studies we have conducted, a behavioral one and a neuromodulatory one using transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with written production intervention. We show that speech-language intervention improves language outcomes in individuals with PPA, and especially in the short term, tDCS augments generalization and maintenance of positive language outcomes. We also outline current issues and challenges in intervention approaches in PPA.

Figures

Figure 1

Interactive model of lexical processing