Dexamphetamine boosts naming treatment effects in chronic aphasia

Abstract

To date, minimal research has investigated the effect of combining dexamphetamine with standard naming therapy after stroke. The present study used a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple baseline, crossover design with two individuals in the chronic stage of stroke recovery. Each individual attended two 4-week blocks of naming therapy (two to three treatment sessions per week). Dexamphetamine (10 mg) was administered at the start of each session during one therapy block, while a placebo was administered during the other therapy block. Therapy progress on treated and untreated items was assessed by a confrontation naming task during and after each therapy block. Both individuals showed greater progress in therapy and maintenance of therapy gains when behavioral treatment was combined with dexamphetamine rather than placebo, although this gain was only statistically significant in one individual. There was no significant improvement on a control task (nonword reading) in either individual. The results provide preliminary evidence that dexamphetamine paired with combined semantic and phonological therapy may be beneficial for the treatment of naming disorders in chronic aphasia. (JINS, 2007, 13, 972-979.)

Action and object naming in schizophrenia

“…Some improvement in naming has been reported using cholinergic (neurotransmitter therapy) and bromocriptine (a dopaminergic agent; National Aphasia Organization). A promising result was reported for dexamphetamine combined with speech therapy (Whiting, Chenery, Chalk, & Copland, 2007) in the treatment of chronic aphasic naming errors.…”

Drug Therapy of Post-Stroke Aphasia: A Review of Current Evidence

“…Dexamphetamine, a drug with psychoactive properties that inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine (Walker-Batson et al 1992;McNeil et al 1997;Whiting et al 2008), has been used to alleviate motor and language deficits in stroke patients (Walker-Batson et al 1992;McNeil et al 1997;Whiting et al 2008). The effects of dexamphetamine administered every third or fourth day and paired with 1-h session of SLT seem to be stronger during the acute recovery process, possibly by accelerating the resolution of diaschisis and enhancing plasticity of behaviorally stimulated networks (Walker-Batson et al 2001;Hillis 2007;Small and Llano 2009).…”

“…The effects of dexamphetamine administered every third or fourth day and paired with 1-h session of SLT seem to be stronger during the acute recovery process, possibly by accelerating the resolution of diaschisis and enhancing plasticity of behaviorally stimulated networks (Walker-Batson et al 2001;Hillis 2007;Small and Llano 2009). Studies on chronic PSA are scant and provide divergent outcomes, with benefits only obtained when dexamphetamine was paired with intensive naming therapy (Whiting et al 2008), but lack of effect was reported in another trial using a similar methodology (McNeil et al 1997). Thus, although larger clinical trials in PSA may be justified (Goldstein 2009), at present dexamphetamine is not recommended in clinical practice (Martinsson and Eksborg 2004;Floel and Cohen 2010).…”

Pharmacotherapy to Improve the Acquired Aphasia following Brain Damages: A Review Study

“…Amphetamine inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine. Though, there are studies which used amphetamine to investigate the drug effectiveness on aphasia which have proved to be helpful when accompanied with intensive speech and language therapy (105,106), still they are not recommended for the treatment of aphasia in clinics (107).…”