Abstract
Factors which may affect the prognosis of aphasic syndrome, such as age, size of lesion, type of aphasia and recovery pattern during the early stage, were reviewed in 64 patients whose aphasia was caused by cerebral infarction.
The results are summarized as follows :
(1) Patients who improved considerably during the first month after onset showed favorable outcome in the long term.
(2) There was no discernible difference in outcom between Broca's and Wernicke's aphasia.
(3) Lesion size was found to have a strong relation to the long-range outcome. Of 26 patients with lesion size greater than 50 ccm, 22 (85 %) remained severely affected. In fact, 22 (71 %) of the 31 patients severely affected had lesion size larger than 50 ccm. On the other hand, the size of the lesion in mild aphasics never exceeded 50 ccm.
(4) Age also seemed to influence the long-term prognosis particularly in patients who were most severely affected during the early stage of stroke.
