When dementia harms speech, native language matters

Dementia patients may develop distinct speech and reading problems depending on their native language, a new study finds.

The study included 20 English-speaking and 18 Italian-speaking patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a neurodegenerative disorder that affects language areas in the brain. It is often associated with dementia.

The patients had a type of PPA characterized by difficulty producing or pronouncing words (nonfluent PPA).

While both groups of patients had similar levels of degeneration and brain function, English-speakers had more trouble pronouncing words -- a traditional sign of nonfluent PPA -- and tended to speak less than usual.

The Italian-speakers had fewer pronunciation difficulties but tended to produce much shorter and grammatically simpler sentences, according to the study published recently in the journal Neurology.

"We think this is specifically because the consonant clusters that are so common in English pose a challenge for a degenerating speech-planning system," said senior author Dr. Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini. She's a professor at the University of California, San Francisco's Memory and Aging Center.

"In contrast, Italian is easier to pronounce, but has much more complex grammar, and this is how Italian-speakers with PPA tend to run into trouble," she explained in a university news release.

The findings could improve accurate diagnosis of PPA in patients across different cultures, according to the researchers.

Gorno-Tempini noted that clinical criteria for diagnosing disorders that affect behavior and language are based mainly on studies of English-speakers and Western cultures, which could lead to misdiagnosis.

"It is critical going forward that studies take language and cultural differences into account when studying brain disorders that affect higher cognitive [mental] functions -- which we know are greatly impacted by culture, environment, and experience," she concluded.

Poor sleep has been linked to the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and now a new study suggests a possible reason why.

A small group of young, healthy men deprived of just one night of sleep had higher blood levels of tau protein than when they had a full and uninterrupted night of rest, researchers reported in a study published online Jan. 8 in Neurology.

"This is interesting as accumulation of the protein tau is seen in the brains of individuals afflicted by Alzheimer's disease, or most common forms of dementia," said senior study author Dr. Jonathan Cedernaes, a senior researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden.

The researchers did not find any similar increase in amyloid beta, another brain protein long linked to Alzheimer's, the Swedish researchers said.

The new findings come as Alzheimer's research has started to shift its focus towards tau as a more important cause of brain damage associated with the disease.

Another group of researchers recently reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine that they can predict with reasonable accuracy which brain regions will wither and atrophy in Alzheimer's by identifying the places where tau protein "tangles" have accumulated.  Tau is a protein found in normally active neurons, and it is typically cleared from the brain rapidly, Cedernaes said.

But in Alzheimer's patients, tau sticks together to form tangles that linger in the brain.

For this latest study, researchers recruited 15 men with an average age of 22, all of whom said they regularly get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night.

                                                                                     

 

When dementia harms speech, native language matters

Dementia patients may develop distinct speech and reading problems depending on their native language, a new study finds. The study included 20 English-speaking and 18 Italian-speaking patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA), a neurodegenerative disorder that affects language areas in the brain. It is often associated with dementia. The patients had a type of PPA characterized by difficulty producing or pronouncing words (nonfluent PPA). While both groups of patients had similar levels of degeneration and brain function, English-speakers had more trouble pronouncing words -- a traditional sign of nonfluent PPA -- and tended to speak less than usual. The Italian-speakers had fewer pronunciation difficulties but tended to produce much shorter and grammatically simpler sentences, according to the study published recently in the journal Neurology. We think this is specifically because the consonant clusters that are so common in English pose a challenge for a degenerating speech-planning system, said senior author Dr. Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini. Shes a professor at the University of California, San Franciscos Memory and Aging Center. In contrast, Italian is easier to pronounce, but has much more complex grammar, and this is how Italian-speakers with PPA tend to run into trouble, she explained in a university news release. The findings could improve accurate diagnosis of PPA in patients across different cultures, according to the researchers. Gorno-Tempini noted that clinical criteria for diagnosing disorders that affect behavior and language are based mainly on studies of English-speakers and Western cultures, which could lead to misdiagnosis. It is critical going forward that studies take language and cultural differences into account when studying brain disorders that affect higher cognitive [mental] functions -- which we know are greatly impacted by culture, environment, and experience, she concluded. Poor sleep has been linked to the development of dementia and Alzheimers disease, and now a new study suggests a possible reason why. A small group of young, healthy men deprived of just one night of sleep had higher blood levels of tau protein than when they had a full and uninterrupted night of rest, researchers reported in a study published online Jan. 8 in Neurology. This is interesting as accumulation of the protein tau is seen in the brains of individuals afflicted by Alzheimers disease, or most common forms of dementia, said senior study author Dr. Jonathan Cedernaes, a senior researcher at Uppsala University in Sweden. The researchers did not find any similar increase in amyloid beta, another brain protein long linked to Alzheimers, the Swedish researchers said. The new findings come as Alzheimers research has started to shift its focus towards tau as a more important cause of brain damage associated with the disease. Another group of researchers recently reported in the journal Science Translational Medicine that they can predict with reasonable accuracy which brain regions will wither and atrophy in Alzheimers by identifying the places where tau protein tangles have accumulated. Tau is a protein found in normally active neurons, and it is typically cleared from the brain rapidly, Cedernaes said. But in Alzheimers patients, tau sticks together to form tangles that linger in the brain. For this latest study, researchers recruited 15 men with an average age of 22, all of whom said they regularly get seven to nine hours of quality sleep each night.