Progressive apraxia of speech presenting as isolated disorder of speech articulation and prosody: a case report

Neurocase. 2008;14(2):162-8. doi: 10.1080/13554790802060839.

Abstract

Apraxia of speech (AOS) is a rare disorder of motor speech programming, and few case reports have included sufficient description of both clinical findings and lesion localization. We report a case with an isolated progressive speech articulation deficit and brain involvement restricted to the left superior frontal gyrus. This case suggests that slowly progressive AOS may be a clinical disorder distinct from primary progressive aphasia, and that it can occur without language disorders or bucco-facial apraxia. Our findings highlight the importance of the left hemisphere in speech articulatory deficits and suggest that the left superior frontal gyrus plays a crucial role in specific articulatory processes.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Apraxias / complications*
  • Apraxias / diagnosis
  • Apraxias / physiopathology*
  • Articulation Disorders / etiology*
  • Disease Progression
  • Female
  • Frontal Lobe / diagnostic imaging
  • Frontal Lobe / pathology
  • Humans
  • Imaging, Three-Dimensional
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Neurologic Examination
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Positron-Emission Tomography
  • Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon
  • Writing