Alzheimer's disease and language impairments: social intervention and medical treatment.
Blanka Klimova, Petra Maresova, Martin Valis...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26346123Actively Recruiting
Phase Not Applicable
Age: 40Years +
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
ID05741853
Cognitive Reserve and Linguistic Resilience in Bilingual Hispanics With Primary Progressive Aphasia
Led by University of Texas at Austin · Updated on 2025-11-12
60
Participants Needed
3
Research Sites
N/A
Total Duration
On this page
Sponsors
U
University of Texas at Austin
Lead Sponsor
F
Fundació Institut de Recerca de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
Collaborating Sponsor
AI-Summary
What this Trial Is About
Researchers are studying bilingual individuals with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a condition marked by difficulties in speech and language. This trial evaluates the effects of speech-language treatments tailored to the cultural and linguistic backgrounds of bilingual speakers with PPA. It aims to understand how bilingual experiences, like language use and strength, relate to treatment response and to explore brain mechanisms involved in language recovery and resilience in PPA. The study includes two main behavioral interventions based on PPA variant types. Participants with nonfluent/agrammatic PPA engage in Video-Implemented Script Training for Aphasia (VISTA), practicing personally relevant scripts via teletherapy and independent computer exercises. Those with logopenic or semantic variant PPA receive Lexical Retrieval Training (LRT), focusing on word retrieval strategies through teletherapy and computer-based practice. These treatments occur over several weeks with assessments before, after, and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Additionally, some participants undergo brain imaging before treatment. Participants complete regular evaluations of speech intelligibility and naming ability, along with questionnaires and speech feature analyses at multiple time points. The study monitors treatment effects through teletherapy sessions, independent practice, and structured language assessments. Safety and progress are tracked throughout the study, which lasts over a year to capture both immediate and longer-term outcomes of the tailored speech-language interventions.
CONDITIONS
Brief Title
Cognitive Reserve and Response to Speech-Language Intervention in Bilingual Speakers With Primary Progressive Aphasia
Who Can Participate
Age: 40Years +
All Genders
Healthy Volunteers
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if you...
- Diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia according to Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011 criteria
- Bilingual in Spanish and Catalan or Spanish and English
- Any proficiency level or prior experience in both languages is acceptable
- For intervention study: Mini-Mental State Examination score of 15 or higher
- For assessment-only participants: Mini-Mental State Examination score of 10 or higher
You will not qualify if you...
- Having other central nervous system or medical diagnoses causing symptoms
- Having other psychiatric diagnoses causing symptoms
- Significant uncorrected vision or hearing impairment interfering with participation
- Prominent initial impairments not related to speech or language (cognitive, behavioral, motoric)
- For intervention study: Mini-Mental State Examination score less than 15
- For assessment-only participants: Mini-Mental State Examination score less than 10
AI-Screening
AI-Powered Screening
Complete this quick 3-step screening to check your eligibility
1
2
3
Your Study Journey
Screening
Duration - 2 to 4 weeks
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial.
1 visit (in-person or remote)
Outpatient Treatment
Duration - 9 weeks
Participants complete teletherapy sessions and independent computer-based practice tailored to their type of primary progressive aphasia to improve speech and language abilities.
Two 1-hour teletherapy sessions per week plus independent 30-minute computer-based practice 5-7 times per week
Follow-up
Duration - Up to 1 year post-treatment
Participants are assessed at multiple time points after treatment to monitor the progress and effects of the intervention on speech and language abilities.
Assessments at 6 months and 1 year post-treatment
Trial Site Locations
Total: 3 locations
1
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States, 78752
Actively Recruiting
2
Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau
Barcelona, Spain, 08025
Actively Recruiting
3
Hospital Clínic de Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain, 08036
Not Yet Recruiting
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Research Team
C
Camille Wagner Rodríguez, M.S., CCC-SLP
How is the study designed?
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Masking
NONE
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Model
PARALLEL
Primary Purpose
TREATMENT
Number of Arms
2
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Published Research Related To This Trial
Speaking in Alzheimer's Disease, is That an Early Sign? Importance of Changes in Language Abilities in Alzheimer's Disease.
Greta Szatloczki, Ildiko Hoffmann, Veronika Vincze...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26539107Slowly progressive aphasia without generalized dementia.
M M Mesulam
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7114808Clinical, Anatomical, and Pathological Features in the Three Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia: A Review.
Maxime Montembeault, Simona M Brambati, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30186225Classification of primary progressive aphasia and its variants.
M L Gorno-Tempini, A E Hillis, S Weintraub...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21325651Nonpharmacological interventions for cognitive impairments following primary progressive aphasia: a systematic review of the literature.
Maria Teresa Carthery-Goulart, Amanda da Costa da Silveira, Thais Helena Machado...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29213828Bilingualism as a protection against the onset of symptoms of dementia.
Ellen Bialystok, Fergus I M Craik, Morris Freedman
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Suvarna Alladi, Thomas H Bak, Mekala Shailaja...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28322905Bilingualism delays age at onset of dementia, independent of education and immigration status.
Suvarna Alladi, Thomas H Bak, Vasanta Duggirala...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24198291Effects of bilingualism on age at onset in two clinical Alzheimer's disease variants.
Jessica de Leon, Stephanie M Grasso, Ariane Welch...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32881346