Therapy of Primary Progressive Aphasia in Current Research

Abstract

Primary progressive aphasia is a neurodegenerative clinical syndrome with predominant speech and language dysfunction. There are currently no curative or symptomatic pharmacological treatments. Speech and Language Therapy represents the optimum treatment to maximise communication skills for patients withprimary progressive aphasia. There are multiple therapeutic strategies available for speech-language pathologists, which are aimed at concrete deficits, or which arefunctionally aimed strategies. This article summarises a review of the therapeutic strategies for primary progressive aphasia and the specifics of generalisation in therapy, in view of current research. Due to its promising conclusions pointing to the effectiveness of Speech Therapy, the necessity of referring patients diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia to the care of a Clinical Speech Therapist as soon as possible after diagnosis is emphasised.

Keywords

• primary progressive aphasia
• therapy
• research
• cognitive-communication disorder
• frontotemporal lobar degeneration