Learning Disabilities May Presage Later Languag... ( Findings suggest some individuals or ...)

Learning Disabilities May Presage Later Language Problems

Date:2/12/2008

Findings suggest some individuals or families may have underlying speech deficits

TUESDAY, Feb. 12 (HealthDay News) -- People with a personal or family history of learning disabilities may be more at risk for a rare type of dementia that causes them to lose language abilities as they age, according to a new report.

The condition, known as primary progressive aphasia, causes language abilities to be slowly and progressively impaired, even though the person's other brain functions appear unaffected for at least the first two years, according to background information for the article in the February issue of Archives of Neurology.

Although risk factors for Alzheimer's disease have been well studied, much less is known about risk factors for primary progressive aphasia, the authors wrote.

Researchers, led by Emily Rogalski, then of Northwestern University and now of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, studied 699 people -- about half with no dementia and the other half with either primary progressive aphasia, Alzheimer's disease or a related disorder known as frontotemporal dementia.

Patients with primary progressive aphasia were more likely to have had learning disabilities or a close family member with learning disabilities than were those with other forms of dementia or without dementia. The review of patients with both aphasia and learning disabilities showed families with unusually high rates of learning problems, especially dyslexia.

For example, in three cases, nine of the 10 children of the participants were reported to have had a history of specific learning disability in the area of language, the authors wrote.

"In our clinical practice, we encounter many patients with primary progressive aphasia who report that spelling was never their strong suit or that they could not learn new languages, but who would not have identified themselves as having a learning d
'/>"/>

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2
Related medicine news :

1. Lutheran Senior Services Partners with Silverchair Learning Systems to Enhance Employee Training and Education
2. Schwablearning.Org Launches Interactive Tool to Help Parents of Children Struggling in School
3. American Heart Association Enhances eLearning for Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC)
4. Babies raised in bilingual homes learn new words differently than infants learning one language
5. Halogen Offers Performance Based Integrated Learning Management System
6. PulseLearning (Founded in Childs Bedroom in an Irish Suburban Semi Eight Years Ago and Initially Run on a Second-Hand Computer) Today Named Fastest Growing IT Company in Ireland
7. Silverchair Learning Systems Updates and Develops New Courses
8. Understand How Sleep Impacts Learning and Memory
9. Newborn brain cells modulate learning and memory
10. Training Magazine Applauds Aflacs Employee Learning Programs
11. National Council on Disability Urges Congress to Support Americans with Disabilities Act Restoration

Post Your Comments:

Learning Disabilities May Presage Later Languag...( Findings suggest some individuals or ...),Health