Abstract
We experienced a case of aphasia whose language abilities showed good recovery after introduction of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). The subject was a 43-year-old right-handed male university graduate. He developed a cerebral hemorrhage after a shunt operation for cerebral vein sinus thrombosis in March 1999, and right hemiplegia and severe aphasia remained. He was admitted to Edogawa Hospital eight months after the onset, and started undergoing intensive therapy for aphasia. He experienced sleep apnea and snoring before the onset, and was diagnosed by polysomnography as having moderate OSAHS. After two years of language training for aphasia, we introduced nCPAP to the subject. The standard language test of aphasia (SLTA) revealed remarkable improvement, especially in the subtests of speech that had showed slow recovery, compared with performances before the introduction of nCPAP. In addition, fluency of conversation in daily life also improved, resulting in much easier communication. These results suggest that ventilation with nCPAP is effective for recovery from aphasia.
