Language training for oral and written naming impairment in primary progressive aphasia: a review

Abstract

Background Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by a gradual, insidious and progressive loss of language abilities, with naming difficulties being an early and persistent impairment common to all three variants. In the absence of effective pharmacological treatments and given the progressive nature of the disorder, in the past few decades, many studies have investigated the effectiveness of language training to minimize the functional impact of word-finding difficulties in daily life. Main body We review language treatments most commonly used in clinical practice among patients with different variants of PPA, with a focus on the enhancement of spoken and written naming abilities. Generalization of gains to the ability to name untrained stimuli or to other language abilities and the maintenance of these results over time are also discussed. Forty-eight studies were included in this literature review, identifying four main types of language treatment: a) lexical retrieval treatment, b) phonological and/or orthographic treatment, c) semantic treatment, and d) a multimodality approach treatment. Overall, language training is able to induce immediate improvements of naming abilities in all variants of PPA. Moreover, despite the large variability among results, generalization and long-term effects can be recorded after the training. The reviewed studies also suggest that one factor that determines the choice of a particular approach is the compromised components of the lexical/semantic processing system. Conclusion The majority of studies have demonstrated improvements of naming abilities following language treatments. Given the progressive nature of PPA, it is essential to apply language treatment in the early stages of the disease.

Longitudinal Changes in Cognition, Behaviours, and Functional Abilities in the Three Main Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Literature Review

“…The decline in the language is expected in all three variants, and therefore, referral to a speech-language pathologist can be useful. Indeed, previous studies highlighted the efficacy of speech and language interventions for PPA patients, as well as maintenance of the gains after the treatment period [11,19,73,74]. Even teletherapy proved to be beneficial in mild-to-moderate cases, therefore opening the door to new possibilities and better access to therapy [75].…”

Semantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia: Practical Recommendations for Treatment from 20 Years of Behavioural Research

“…It rather aims to offer a practical overview of commonly administered training strategies. See [ 66 ] for a review of methods used in svPPA studies up until 2014 and [ 23 ] for methods used in PPA studies in general.…”

“…The first rehabilitation reports emerged in the literature in the late 1990s, inspired by patients who spontaneously engaged in self-practice as an attempted remedy for their anomia [ 18 , 19 ]. The proliferation of single case studies and small group studies over the next decades have demonstrated that people with svPPA who receive naming therapy can improve their recall of object labels in the short term, that the gains might be retained over time and that at least partial restoration of semantic knowledge may be possible (see reviews by Carthery-Gouland et al [ 20 ], Jokel et al, [ 21 ], Cotelli et al, [ 22 ] and Pagnoni et al [ 23 ] for an overview). Furthermore, the breadth of research into non-pharmacological interventions has by no means remained restricted to word retrieval.…”

Unravelling Neurotransmitters Impairment in Primary Progressive Aphasias

“…Up to now, PPA interventions rely mainly on speech training [9], and on promising approaches with noninvasive brain stimulation techniques [10][11][12] to counteract language de cits. However, it remains important to advance symptomatic treatment, to reduce disease burden and improve patients' and carers' quality of life [13].…”