2009 Volume 29 Issue 4 Pages 399-407
Recently Mariën et al. (2004) advocated that adult vascular crossed aphasia in dextrals (CAD) has some conspicuous characteristics different from those of ordinary aphasia. In this study we analyzed their various characteristics—disease, age, gender, type of aphasia, anatomical correlation (mirror image vs. anomalous), severity, oral vs. written language dissociation, language recovery, nonverbal cognitive disorder—in our six cases of adult vascular CAD according to their criteria : (1) right-handedness, (2) lesions strictly confined to the right hemisphere, (3) absence of early brain damage, (4) absence of familial left-handedness, and, (5) evidence of aphasia. The results revealed that the characteristics in our six cases are consistent with those of Mariën et al. with respect to : (1) Non-frequent aphasia is not very prevalent ; (2) The correlation between clinical type and age as reported in ordinary aphasia is not apparent ; (3) Good language recovery is not always assured ; (4) Left unilateral hemiagnosia is most prevalent in nonverbal cognitive disorders. Our findings were inconsistent with theirs, however, with respect to ; (5) Males are not predominant over females in frequency ; (6) Oral apraxia is not so frequently encountered. Further study of adult vascular CAD cases should be promoted to clarify the appropriateness of Mariën et al.'s advocacy, including their analytical methods.
