Search Results (5)

Neurocysticercosis (NCC), a parasitic infection caused by Taenia solium larvae, remains a leading cause of acquired epilepsy worldwide, particularly in regions with inadequate sanitation and healthcare access. We present a case of NCC reactivation in a 64-year-old female who developed anomic aphasia—a rare manifestation of NCC—decades after her initial diagnosis. The patient’s clinical course was complicated by a potential trigger of semaglutide, which potentially attenuated the protective inflammatory response maintained by astrocytes and microglia, leading to the reactivation of dormant cysts. Brain imaging confirmed localized cystic changes, and treatment with antiparasitic agents and corticosteroids led to marked clinical improvement. This case highlights the complexity of NCC reactivation, highlighting the interplay of metabolic, immune, and parasitic factors. It emphasizes the need for vigilance in managing patients with dormant infections and investigating potential risks associated with novel therapeutic agents like GLP-1 receptor agonists. Further research is essential to unravel the mechanisms linking metabolic modulation to parasitic reactivation, offering insights into prevention and treatment strategies. Full article

Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVT) is an uncommon disease in the general population, although it is a significant stroke type throughout pregnancy and the puerperium. Studies describing this subtype of CVT are limited. Most pregnancy-associated CVT happen in late pregnancy, or more commonly in the first postpartum weeks, being associated with venous thrombosis outside the nervous system. Case presentation: The current study describes a case of multiple CVT in a 38-year-old woman with multiple risk factors (including severe inherited thrombophilia and being in the puerperium period), presenting mixed transcortical aphasia (a rare type of aphasia) associated with right moderate hemiparesis and intracranial hypertension. The clinical diagnosis of CVT was confirmed by laboratory data and neuroimaging data from head computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and magnetic resonance venography. She was successfully treated with low-molecular-weight heparin (anticoagulation) and osmotic diuretics (mannitol) for increased intracranial pressure and cerebral edema. At discharge, after 15 days of evolution, she presented a partial recovery, with anomic plus aphasia and mild right hemiparesis. Clinical and imaging follow-up was performed at 6 months after discharge; our patient presented normal language and mild right central facial paresis, with chronic left thalamic, caudate nucleus, and internal capsule infarcts and a partial recanalization of the dural sinuses. Full article

We investigated whether semantic plausibility and syntactic complexity affect immediate sentence recall in people with latent and anomic aphasia. To date, these factors have not been explored in these types of aphasia. As with previous studies of sentence recall, we measured accuracy of verbatim recall and uniquely real-time speech measures. The results showed that accuracy did not distinguish performance between latent aphasia and neurotypical controls. However, some of the real-time speech measures distinguished performance between people with latent aphasia and neurotypical controls. There was some evidence, though not pervasive, that semantic plausibility and syntactic complexity influenced recall performance. There were no interactions between semantic plausibility and syntactic complexity. The speed of preparation of responses was slower in latent aphasia than controls; it was also slower in anomic aphasia than both latent and control groups. It appears that processing speed as indexed by temporal speech measures may be differentially compromised in latent and anomic aphasia. However, semantic plausibility and syntactic complexity did not show clear patterns of performance among the groups. Notwithstanding the absence of interactions, we advance an explanation based on conceptual short-term memory as to why semantically implausible sentences are typically more erroneous and possibly also slower in recall. Full article

Survivors of either a hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke tend to acquire aphasia and experience spontaneous recovery during the first six months. Nevertheless, a considerable number of patients sustain aphasia and require speech and language therapy to overcome the difficulties. As a preliminary study, this article aims to distinguish aphasia caused from a temporoparietal lesion. Typically, temporal and parietal lesions cause Wernicke’s aphasia and Anomic aphasia. Differential diagnosis between Anomic and Wernicke’s has become controversial and subjective due to the close resemblance of Wernicke’s to Anomic aphasia when recovering. Hence, this article proposes a clinical diagnosis system that incorporates normal coupling between the acoustic frequencies of speech signals and the language ability of temporoparietal aphasias to delineate classification boundary lines. The proposed inspection system is a hybrid scheme consisting of automated components, such as confrontation naming, repetition, and a manual component, such as comprehension. The study was conducted involving 30 participants clinically diagnosed with temporoparietal aphasias after a stroke and 30 participants who had experienced a stroke without aphasia. The plausibility of accurate classification of Wernicke’s and Anomic aphasia was confirmed using the distinctive acoustic frequency profiles of selected controls. Accuracy of the proposed system and algorithm was confirmed by comparing the obtained diagnosis with the conventional manual diagnosis. Though this preliminary work distinguishes between Anomic and Wernicke’s aphasia, we can claim that the developed algorithm-based inspection model could be a worthwhile solution towards objective classification of other aphasia types. Full article

Although the hippocampus has not typically been identified as part of the language and aphasia circuit, recent evidence suggests that the hippocampus is closely related to naming, word priming, and anomic aphasia. A 59-year old woman with limbic encephalitis of possible autoimmune etiology, after recovery of consciousness, presented with severe memory impairment in both anterograde and retrograde modalities, episodes of fear, hallucination and convulsion, and transient fluent, phonemic paraphasia, together with small sharp waves diffusely by EEG. Brain MRI revealed bilateral symmetric, discrete lesions in the body to the infundibulum of the hippocampus. The transient phonemic paraphasia noted in our patient may have been a result of primary damage in the hippocampus and its fiber connection to the Wernicke’s area or secondary partial status epilepticus that might have originated in the hippocampus. Full article