Acquired stuttering due to recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma

Abstract

Acquired (neurogenic) stuttering is a rare phenomenon seen after cerebral infarction or brain injury. Aetiology of this symptom is unclear, but recent evidence supports that it is a disturbance in the left hemispheric neural network involving the interplay between the cortex and basal ganglia. We present the case of a patient who develops acquired stuttering after a recurrence of a right temporoparietal anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III). We also review other cases of acquired stuttering and known anatomical correlates.

Improving specificity of stimulation-based language mapping in stuttering glioma patients: A mixed methods serial case study

“…Moreover, only a small number of cases presented a stutter. This cohort of six, however, is already larger than most studies focusing on stuttering in brain tumor patients, which typically are based on single case descriptions [ 18 , 20 ]. Still, this number limited the statistical analysis possibilities.…”

“…The most common form of this speech fluency disorder emerges during childhood, with a prevalence of roughly 1 % [ 16 ]. Moreover, predominantly case studies link an acquired, neurogenic form to neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, or traumatic brain injuries and rarely to brain tumors [ [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] ].…”

Corpus callosum demyelination associated with acquired stuttering

“…These differences suggest network plasticity resulting in dysfunctional recruitment of the non-dominant hemisphere 4. Peters et al 2 presented a patient with new onset stuttering after recurrence of a right temporoparietal anaplastic astrocytoma, suggesting an additional complex interplay between cortical and subcortical structures in the role of language.…”

“…Acquired stuttering is generally distinguished from developmental stuttering by lack of adaptation, block or repetition within any part of the word, presence in simple and complex language, lack of anxiety and absence of secondary motor symptoms 2. Despite this distinction, there may be a common underlying neurological pathway involving the corpus callosum—a large white matter bundle vital for interhemispheric communication and integration of information.…”