Access, referral, service provision and management of individuals with primary progressive aphasia: A survey of speech‐language therapists in Italy

Battista, Petronilla; Piccininni, Marco; Montembeault, Maxime; Messina, Annachiara; Minafra, Brigida; Miller, Bruce L.; Henry, Maya L.; Tempini, Maria Luisa Gorno; Grasso, Stephanie

doi:10.1111/1460-6984.12843

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The study of fluent bilingual speakers with PPA may be particularly informative 50 . From a clinical perspective, cross-linguistic studies will be essential to develop inclusive, culturally sensitive and appropriate diagnostic guidelines and management interventions for PPA 3,51 particularly timely in the dawning era of neurodegenerative disease-modifying therapies. From a clinical perspective, cross-linguistic studies will be essential to develop inclusive, culturally sensitive and appropriate diagnostic guidelines and management interventions for PPA 3,51 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary progressive aphasia in Italian and English: a cross-linguistic cohort study

Mazzeo,

Hardy,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Background and objectives: Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) signifies a diverse group of neurodegenerative disorders principally affecting language functions. The major syndromic variants of PPA present with distinct profiles of linguistic deficits. However, current concepts and diagnosis of PPA are largely based on English-speaking patients, while few studies have explored how PPA syndromes might vary between languages. Here we undertook a comprehensive neuropsychological comparison of all major PPA syndromes in two languages with contrasting characteristics: Italian and English. Methods: We retrospectively compared the PPA cohorts attending our specialist referral centres on neuropsychological tests sampling a range of linguistic and general cognitive domains. The cohorts comprised 106 native Italian-speakers with PPA (14 nonfluent/agrammatic variant [nfvPPA], 20 semantic variant [svPPA], 41 logopenic variant [lvPPA], 31 mixed PPA [mPPA]) and 166 native English-speakers with PPA (70 nfvPPA, 45 svPPA, 42 lvPPA, 9 mPPA). Neuropsychological scores were normalised to healthy older native speakers (adjusted for age and years of education) and dichotomised (impaired/unimpaired) to identify the proportion of each cohort showing impairment on each test. Cohorts were compared in logistic regression models, covarying for symptom duration and overall cognitive severity. Results: The English PPA cohort was significantly younger (mean 62.7 years) than the Italian cohort (mean 65.9 years; p=0.003), with longer symptom duration (mean 4.6 vs 3.1 years; p=0.048), a higher proportion of nfvPPA cases (42% vs. 13%, p<0.001) and lower proportions of lvPPA (25% vs. 38%, p=0.019) and mPPA (5% vs. 29%, p<0.001). Compared with Italian-speaking patients, English-speaking nfvPPA patients had less frequent expressive agrammatism (p=0.015) and more frequently impaired single-word comprehension (p=0.013) and nonverbal working memory (p=0.041). English svPPA patients had more frequent surface dyslexia (p=0.046) and dysgraphia (p=0.021), while English lvPPA patients had more frequently impaired single-word comprehension (p<0.001), word repetition (p=0.02), nonverbal working memory (p=0.005) and visuospatial perception (p<0.001). Discussion: Language-specific characteristics importantly influence PPA phenotypes: degeneration of language networks may predispose to expressive agrammatism in Italian (reflecting its morphological complexity) and to impaired spoken word processing and regularisation errors in English (reflecting its articulatory, acoustic and orthographic complexity). These findings have implications for diagnosis, management and cross-linguistic collaborative initiatives in PPA.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Primary progressive aphasia in Italian and English: a cross-linguistic cohort study

Mazzeo,

Hardy,

Jiang

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…As this survey study was conducted to determine the interventions of SLTs in patients with PPA, all of the SLTs surveyed had previously colsulted patients with PPA. In a survey conducted in Italy, 58.3% of the 336 SLTs surveyed stated that they do not consult individuals with PPA (Battista et al, 2023). However, in our study, there is no data on how many of all SLTs counsel individuals with PPA.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perspective of Speech and Language Therapists in Turkey on Primary Progressive Aphasia

YAŞA

2023

Sage Open

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Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the insidious and progressive loss of speech and language skills. However, there is no standardized intervention method applied in patients with PPA. It was conducted a virtual survey of SLTs across Turkey, to collect information about the assessment, intervention and management of patients with PPA. A total of 285 SLTs participated the survey; 76.8% ( n = 219) of the respondents were female, 58.9% ( n = 168) were 1 to 2 years post graduation, 62.8% ( n = 179) of them were master’s degree, and 46% ( n = 131) were working in a rehabilitation center. All 285 participants included in the study stated that they did not create a therapy process for their clients with PPA and they performed the therapy processes applied in the classical aphasia treatment. Two hundred sixty-eight participants stated that they had more than six sessions with their clients, and 280 respondents. It is very important for all participants to plan functional interventions that require joint participation with the patient and their family/caregiver or friends, which will support communication and language and communication-oriented intervention. However, there is a need to develop specific evidence-based care pathways for people with PPA so that more efficient interventions can be made. Raising awareness among SLTs and other clinical service providers that rehabilitation is effective can increase the accessibility of interventions for individuals with PPA and lead to a more robust support system for individuals affected by PPA.

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A Roadmap to Enhance Care for People Living With Primary Progressive Aphasia: What Can Be Done Now?

Gallée

2023

Perspect ASHA SIGs

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Purpose: People living with primary progressive aphasia (PwPPA) face a progressive decline in speech, language, and communication capabilities. PwPPA live with relatively well-preserved cognition, which further contributes to their insight and grief resulting from the losses of language and independence, as well as the misconceptions surrounding the condition. This clinical focus article underscores the clinical necessity of enhancing access to and the quality of care provided to PwPPA while highlighting the unique role of the speech-language pathologist in these services. To help accomplish this, evidence-based practice informed by the current literature is offered to speech-language pathologists working with this target population. Conclusions: Palliative, person-centered services for the assessment and management of PPA are necessary to shape the most optimal care trajectory of PwPPA and their care partners. Speech-language pathologists can take concrete steps to improve the assessment and intervention experiences for their clients living with this condition. These steps should include (a) clearly defining the speech-language pathologist's role, (b) providing person-centered processes of assessment, management, and care, (c) defining the provider team, (d) advocating for the client across health care professions, (e) and knowing when to refer out to additional services.

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Access, referral, service provision and management of individuals with primary progressive aphasia: A survey of speech‐language therapists in Italy

Cited by 7 publications

References 44 publications

Primary progressive aphasia in Italian and English: a cross-linguistic cohort study

Primary progressive aphasia in Italian and English: a cross-linguistic cohort study

Perspective of Speech and Language Therapists in Turkey on Primary Progressive Aphasia

A Roadmap to Enhance Care for People Living With Primary Progressive Aphasia: What Can Be Done Now?

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