Primary Progressive Aphasia Multicomponent Language Treatment Study

Not Applicable

Active, not recruiting

• Conditions: Primary Progressive Aphasia; Semantic Dementia; Semantic Memory Disorder; Logopenic Progressive Aphasia; Nonfluent Aphasia, Progressive; Aphasia; Aphasia, Progressive

• Registration Number: NCT06649084
• Lead Sponsor: University of Texas at Austin

Brief Summary

Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is a progressive neurological disorder that causes a gradual decline in communication ability as a result of selective neurodegeneration of speech and language networks in the brain. PPA is a devastating condition affecting adults as young as in their 50's, depriving them of the ability to communicate and function in society. As a result of improved diagnostic precision, PPA is now identified with greater accuracy and frequency and, increasingly, patients and their families seek options for behavioral treatments to ameliorate the devastating effects on their communication, prolong speech language skills, and maximize quality of life. Speech-language treatment outcomes from our group and others are encouraging, confirming that behavioral intervention may lead to improvements in trained behaviors and, for some interventions, lasting and generalized benefit. Most speech-language interventions for individuals with PPA that have been explored in the literature are restitutive, or impairment-based in nature, and have not addressed the full range of severity and phenotypic variability in this population. The investigators will evaluate the utility of a novel, multicomponent intervention that incorporates elements of restitutive (e.g., word finding strategic training, script training), compensatory (e.g., multimodal communication, communication book), and care partner-focused treatment to meet the needs of individuals varying in clinical presentation and severity.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2023-05-02
• Status Verified: 2024-10
• Study First Submitted: 2024-10-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-10-16
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-10-16
• Study First Posted: 2024-10-18
• Last Update Posted: 2024-10-18
• Primary Completion: 2025-05-31
• Study Completion: 2025-05-31

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 21

Inclusion Criteria

• Meets diagnostic criteria for Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA; Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011)
• Scores of 10 or higher on the Mini-Mental State Examination
• Has a study partner who can consistently attend sessions

Exclusion Criteria

• Other neurological or psychiatric diagnosis that may contribute to cognitive-linguistic deficits
• Significant, uncorrected visual or hearing impairment that would interfere with participation
• Score of less than 10 on the Mini-Mental State Examination
• Prominent initial non-speech-language impairment (cognitive, behavioral, motoric)

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in script production accuracy	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	Percent correct intelligible, scripted words for trained/untrained scripts
Change in spoken naming of trained/untrained items	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	Percent correctly named trained/untrained pictures
Information communicated in any modality for trained/untrained stimuli	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	Percent of major content units (key words) communicated via speech or nonspeech modalities (e.g., writing, drawing, gesture) for trained/untrained scripts (Multi-VISTA) or words (Multi-LRT) during structured probes and in conversation
Goal Attainment Score	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	The Goal Attainment Score is self-reported progress on personalized goals based on a five point scale.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change on Quick Aphasia Battery	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	change on standardized aphasia assessment
Change on Aphasia Impact Questionnaire	change from pre-treatment to post-treatment (approximately 6-12 weeks after treatment onset) and follow-ups at 3 months post-treatment	change on psychosocial questionnaire for individuals with aphasia

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of Texas; 🇺🇸 Austin, Texas, United States