Amnestic aphasia is a disease that a person of absolutely any age and material wealth can face. No one can be insured against this pathology. That is why every person should know that this is amnestic aphasia and how to properly treat it.
Small introduction
Speech is one of the fundamental types of cognitive work of the human brain. In terms of the amount of perceived information, it takes second place after the visual neurosensory apparatus and controls communicative activity. Not surprisingly, without speech, communication becomes less productive and informative. A defect in speech function, which appeared when the patient has the ability to speak, is called aphasia and is an acute social problem.
There are many serious neurological pathologies that can lead to the development of this disease and other abnormalities.
Features of the disease
Amnestic aphasia is one of the common consequences of ischemic attacks and strokes. This pathology occurs due to organic damage to the cortex of the hemispheres that control speech function. In addition to amnestic, there are several more varieties of aphasia. Each of them is characterized by its own signs of speech impairment.
Any kind of aphasia entails a significant decrease in the quality of life of a sick person, since his communication with people around him is very difficult. But despite the complexity of the disease, it is still amenable to correction with proper therapy and rehabilitation. Gradually, the victim can adapt and lead a normal lifestyle.
Brief description of amnestic aphasia
First of all, it is worth noting that this pathology always has an acquired character. In other words, it is noted in those who initially had normal speech function. That is why it is so important not to confuse this pathology with alalia if the defect is diagnosed in childhood.
Amnestic aphasia is a disease in which a person is not able to pronounce the names of different animals, phenomena or objects. Such a deviation is accompanied by a huge number of verbs with a deficit of nouns in speech. A person suffering from this type of aphasia simply cannot name the objects correctly - instead, he describes them in other words, mainly verbs.
For the correct diagnosis of pathology, doctors use a special table of Luria. It presents all existing varieties of aphasia. This is a very important stage of diagnosis, because first of all it is necessary to distinguish the amnestic form from other forms of the disease.
Classification
So, there are several types of aphasia. Know them first of all for the correct diagnosis:
- Efferent motor type. This defect appears against a background of damage to the human motor speech system. The main symptoms include: obvious grammatical errors not only in writing, but also in speech, complex incomprehensible expressions, difficult transitions from units to plurals.
- Dynamic variety. Such a disease covers the cerebral cortex. It is extremely difficult for a person suffering from this vice to logically build a chain in his monologue.
- Afferent motor view. This violation occurs due to damage to the posterior region of the head or parietal zone. With this type of aphasia, it is very difficult for the patient to pronounce certain sounds. In addition, the victim may have some problems with gestures.
- Sensory variety. This pathology appears after phonemic damage. In this case, the patient encounters problems in the perception of sound information. In other words, a person hears words, but simply cannot understand what they want from him.
- Acoustic-mnestic type. It is noted when the connection between the memory center and the auditory analyzer is damaged. This pathology is characterized by scarce speech with an excess of parasitic words.
- Optical-mnestic look. Such people are faced with the problem of visual perception of the phenomenon and its name. At the same time, a person is able to describe the object itself, but his speech is too fluent and slurred. It is often extremely difficult for the patient to choose the right words.
- Semantic variety. This type is characterized by discord in the process of pronunciation of words and simultaneous analysis. The disease is expressed in the absence of the ability to normally perceive speech by ear.
- Amnestic look. This defect is noted with violations in the parietal-temporal region. At the same time, the patient is completely unable to call a spade a spade.
In fact, the classification of aphasia is conditional. With different forms and stages, lesions of identical areas of the brain can be noted. That is why it is not possible to self-medicate in such a situation - it is necessary to seek help from a specialist who will help correct speech.
Symptoms
Most often, amnestic aphasia proceeds rather sluggishly, so its symptoms can be weakly expressed and invisible. It is often possible to identify pathology only with prolonged communication with the patient. The main symptoms of the disease include the following disorders:
- the patient can not always remember the names of objects, but at the same time able to describe them in detail;
- speech itself may be characterized by the presence of too long pauses or, conversely, by a fast, completely slurred pronunciation;
- very often in the monologue of man the same expressions are repeated;
- nouns are regularly skipped during speech;
- frequent use of paraphrasisms;
- in general, the conversation is built correctly;
- there is even no partial loss of visual perception;
- gesticulation remains fairly clear and true;
- There are no difficulties with the pronunciation of sounds and sentences.
For an accurate diagnosis and the appointment of therapy, it is necessary to identify the initial cause of the development of the disease.
Pathogenesis
A specific place of brain damage is a sign by which amnestic aphasia can be detected. Localization of the lesion in this type of disease is the junction of the occipital, parietal or temporal parts of the brain. It is noteworthy that the pathology does not appear on the affected area, but on the opposite side. Right-handed people suffer from the left hemisphere, and left-handed people suffer from the right. These areas perform the function of a kind of hard drive, and when they are damaged, the victim has speech defects.
Prerequisites for the occurrence
The main causes of amnestic aphasia are most often the following conditions:
- Traumatic brain injury with brain injuries of varying degrees - sometimes the victims experience a short-term memory loss, and in some cases, permanent damage to the white matter is possible, against which a person needs to re-fill his brain with memories and knowledge.
- Peak and Alzheimer's diseases can provoke memory impairment and, as a result, the appearance of speech defects. In the absence of therapy, the disease will actively progress, increasing the area of the affected brain.
- Infectious malformations, such as meningitis or encephalitis.
- Poisoning the body with hazardous chemicals and poisons leads to confusion and, accordingly, aphasia.
- Malignant tumors.
- Impaired blood flow.
- Acute abnormalities of cerebral blood flow, which lead to strokes and other problems.
- Various inflammatory processes, for example, an abscess of the brain.
- Some psychological disorders.
Risk groups
The categories of increased likelihood of developing amnestic aphasia include several segments of the population:
- elderly people;
- those with a family history of similar problems;
- patients suffering some common pathologies, such as hypertension, frequent migraine attacks, coronary artery disease, epilepsy.
Various factors can lead to the appearance of a problem, but the ultimate cause under any circumstances is the death of nerve tissue. The key point in successful therapy is deservedly considered early diagnosis. To timely identify problems, you should visit doctors as often as possible and undergo appropriate examinations.
Diagnostics
Before starting treatment, it is necessary to find out the degree of brain damage and the severity of the problem. For this, experts recommend conducting several examinations:
- Ultrasound and sonography;
- X-ray of the skull and brain to detect defects;
- CT
- complex laboratory tests;
- Doppler mapping of blood vessels;
- conventional and contrast MRI of the brain.
How much is such a diagnosis? An X-ray will cost the patient about 1800-2400 rubles. The cost of a CT session reaches approximately 2800 rubles. Laboratory tests in the clinic can be done for free. But the most expensive examination is tomography. How much does a brain MRI? In the capital's clinics, the cost of this study without contrast agents ranges from 4-5 thousand rubles. But contrast tomography can cost 6000-7000 rubles.
The results of the prescribed studies will determine the localization of lesions and prescribe appropriate therapy.
Treatment
Amnestic aphasia is far from being correctable in all cases. Doctors prescribe a therapeutic regimen only on the basis of examination results. In some cases, the patient needs emergency surgical intervention. Such an operation is prescribed only with an immediate threat to the life of the victim.
For a quick recovery, a person requires complex treatment, which consists of several stages:
- psychological therapy;
- taking medications;
- performing physical exercises.
Amnestic aphasia can be easily corrected if all the instructions of the doctor are followed. Young people recover most quickly. Often there were situations when a strong young body coped with the problem even without medication due to good immunity.
On average, patients recover after aphasia for quite some time. Usually this process lasts about 5 years. But even with proper treatment, one cannot be sure of the onset of recovery.
Recovery
Rehabilitation after amnestic aphasia should be phased. In no case should you load a person with too much exercise. The ability to talk normally should return to the victim gradually.
The entire recovery process can be divided into several parts:
- First, the patient is shown images of different objects. Each photo must be supplemented by a signature. During training, each person is described in detail each picture.
- Then comes the turn of situational speech. A person should actively participate in conversations on various topics.
- Then follows the restoration and filling of memory. At this stage of rehabilitation, a person needs to read books, watch all kinds of films and solve crosswords.