Health Discovery: ADHD Med May Help Patients With Aphasia Regain Speech

Amphetamine, a drug commonly used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), appears to increase the effectiveness of speech and language therapy for patients with aphasia, a disorder resulting from damage to areas of the brain that understand and produce speech. Aphasia is most often caused by stroke, although it can also result from a brain tumor or a progressive disease such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.

New research, presented at the February meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society, builds on a 2001 study that found that patients who took an amphetamine 30 minutes before their speech and language therapy regained their ability to speak more quickly than those who took a placebo.

The earlier research did not make apparent why the drug had this effect, nor where in the brain the effect might occur, says Gerry Stefanatos, associate professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Temple University in Philadelphia, and lead author of the new study. “We wanted to investigate those questions,” he says.

Ten patients were given a 20 mg single dose of dextroamphetamine, and then asked to respond to both speech and nonverbal sounds while their brains’ electrical responses were recorded through sensors placed on the scalp. Electrical activity generated by the brain as it processed speech increased in comparison with the response when a placebo was given.

“The medication may promote the development of new neural networks that can help the patient regain speech and language ability,” Stefanatos says.

But medication is just an adjunct to speech and language therapy. “Pairing intensive treatment with certain drugs may accelerate the recovery process in some individuals, and these changes are maintained long after drug and language treatments are ceased,” says Delaina Walker-Batson, professor of communication sciences and disorders at Texas Woman’s University, and lead author of the 2001 study.

The next step is a larger study to see whether these results hold true and to identify what additional drugs might be appropriate.

Cathie Gandel is a freelance writer based in New York.