Aphasia

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*Aphasia facts medical author: Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

• Aphasia, a disturbance in the formulation and comprehension of language, is due to damage to brain tissue areas responsible for language; aphasia may occur suddenly or develop over time, depending on the type and location of brain tissue damage.
• Strokes are a common cause of aphasia (about 80,000 new strokes are diagnosed per year).
• Causes of aphasia are mainly due to strokes, severe head trauma, brain tumors, and brain infections; however, any brain tissue damage for whatever reason that occurs in the language centers of the brain may cause aphasia.
• Two broad categories of aphasia are fluent and non-fluent (also termed Broca's aphasia), but there are subtypes of these categories.
• Aphasia, especially a subtype, is diagnosed by tests given to people to determine the individual's ability to communicate and understand, using language skills; neurologists most frequently diagnose the type of aphasia.
• Aphasia is mainly treated by speech and language therapy and therapy methods are based on the extent and locale of the brain damage.
• Aphasia research is ongoing; studies include revealing underlying problems of brain tissue damage, the links between comprehension and expression, rehabilitation methods, drug therapy, speech therapy, and other ways to understand and treat aspects of aphasia.

Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to portions of the brain that are responsible for language. For most people, these are areas on the left side (hemisphere) of the brain. Aphasia usually occurs suddenly, often as the result of a stroke or head injury, but it may also develop slowly, as in the case of a brain tumor, an infection, or dementia. The disorder impairs the expression and understanding of language as well as reading and writing. Aphasia may co-occur with speech disorders such as dysarthria or apraxia of speech, which also result from brain damage.