Speech Therapy for Progressive Non-fluent Aphasia: On a Case of Apraxia of Speech, Pure Word Deafness and Amusia

Abstract

  A late 60s male developed apraxia of speech, pure word deafness and amusia progressively. His auditory comprehension was disturbed and he expressed orally with phonological errors in conversation, whereas his abilities in reading and writing had been spared. He could not sing well, recognize, or remember music. MRI revealed atrophy of the bilateral perisylvian area, and IMP-SPECT showed decreased areas in the left hemisphere and the right parietal lobe. There was no area of uptake of β-amyloid by PiB-PET. In this case, it is suggested that functions of both anterior and posterior areas of bilateral hemisphere decreased simultaneously. And it is needed to perform speech therapy carefully for patients with degenerative disease, because it is difficult to understand or accept the disease for such cases.