"Biographical, behavioral, and neurological predictors of aphasia treatment outcome" (full title)

Lecture in the C-STAR series, given by Julius Fridriksson, PhD, CCC-SLP (University of South Carolina) on November 8th, 2018, at the University of South Carolina.

Fridriksson lab website: https://web.asph.sc.edu/aphasia/

Abstract:
A recent paper by Breitenstein and colleagues (2017, Lancet) provided strong evidence that aphasia treatment is effective for improving language processing and quality of life in persons with chronic aphasia caused by stroke. Although aphasia therapy has been dispensed in clinical settings for several decades, the results by Breitenstein et al are probably the first to provide Level I evidence that can be used to argue for the effectiveness of aphasia treatment. However, it is well known that response to aphasia treatment varies widely across individuals. A few studies have examined what factors in acute patients predict long-term recovery from aphasia and even less data are available on what factors predict response to aphasia treatment. Given that not all individuals respond to aphasia treatment, it is paramount to identify factors that can be used in the clinical setting to estimate who is a good or poor treatment candidate. In this lecture, I will report some recent findings from C-STAR regarding different baseline predictors of aphasia treatment response. In addition, I will take this opportunity to discuss current progress in aphasia treatment and areas where I think we can improve.