Brain Points

Pretend arriving in a foreign country for vacation where you have your language in your head, but you don't speak the language of the country, so you can't get the words out to make them understand you. Well that's how I felt when I first came to the United States. I knew what I wanted to say to someone, but it was like it was on the tip of my tongue.

It can touch anyone! It doesn't discriminate! and when it does strike it leaves a double blow because the people living with it struggle to explain how it is to live a life with it. Aphasia is a neurological syndrome in which language capabilities become slowly and progressively impaired. It is caused by brain damage resulting from a stroke or a head injury(that is why you should always wear you bike helmet ) which affects a person's ability to communicate. Classical signs of aphasia are impairments in the ability to express oneself when speaking, difficulty with reading, writing, and trouble understanding speech. As a Paramedic such issues fascinate me because I deal with such individuals on a day to day basis.
The article talks about a type of aphasia called primary progressive aphasia or P.P.A which is a form of Dementia affecting the language center of the brain. Dr. M. Marsel Mesulam a know figure in our studies is a leading expert on this disorder. Unlike Alzheimers P.P.A does not affect memory at least not during its early onset. While Alzheimer symptoms are easily recognized by the individuals close relatives and not the individual himself, individuals with P.P.A are "painfully" aware of their struggles in communication well before their close relatives. With no therapy or treatments available the focus is on the language centers of the brain that are still strongest and focus on them by providing speech therapy for those individuals.


This article can be viewed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/03/health/03brody.html