Aphasia is a brain disorder where a person has trouble speaking or understanding other people speaking. It basically affects the will to communicate. Aphasia usually happens suddenly after a stroke or a head injury but it can also come on gradually from a slow-growing brain tumor or a disease that causes a progressive permanent damage. Popular Hollywood Celebrities like, Bruce Willis, Emilia Clarke from Game of Thrones, Sharon Stone and a couple more suffer from this disorder. The severity of aphasia depends on a number of things, including the cause and the extent of the brain damage. Know that Aphasia is not contagious, it can happen with some contagious conditions, but none of these will definitely cause aphasia.
CAUSES OF APHASIA
STROKE AND BRAIN INJURY
This is the most common cause of aphasia. A stroke occurs when a blood clot or a leaking or burst vessel cuts off blood flow to part of the brain. Here, the brain cells die when they do not receive their normal supply of blood, which carries oxygen and important nutrients thus causing aphasia. Other causes of brain injury are severe blows to the head, brain tumors, gunshot wounds, brain infections, and progressive neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
DEMENTIA
People with the most common types of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia usually have a mild form of aphasia. This often involves problems finding words and can affect names, even of people they know very well. Now, this doesn’t mean they cannot recognize the person or know who they are, they just can’t access the names and often times get their names mixed up.
GENETIC DISORDERS
In rare cases, a primary non-fluent aphasia can be caused by a faulty gene that is passed down in families. In this case, there is a strong history of family members being affected at a similar age. These genes are also associated with other forms of frontotemporal dementia. It can be passed down from one or both parents and this disease causes aphasia.
BRAIN TUMORS
Although aphasia typically results from a stroke or brain injury, brain tumors can also cause aphasia. A brain tumor is a mass of cells that grows in the brain. Brain tumors can either be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). A tumor can cause aphasia if it impacts the brain’s language centers. Although brain tumors are not as common as strokes, about 30-50% of people with brain tumors experience aphasia. This is higher than the rate of people who experience aphasia following a stroke.
NOTE
The main treatment for aphasia involves treating the condition that causes it, as well as speech and language therapy. The person with aphasia relearns and practices language skills and learns to use other ways to communicate. Family members often participate in the process, helping the person communicate.
