Cerebrovascular Diseases and Language Disorders

4 th international epilepsy symposium in Pula – how to start seizure treatment Stroke is the third most common cause of death worldwide (after coronary heart disease and all cancers combined) and the major cause of disability. Th e incidence of stroke varies somewhat from region to region, but has been accurately measured in only a few populations. In western countries incidence for people aged 55 years or more ranges from about 4.2 to 6.5 per 1000 pupulation per annum. Approximately 20% of stroke patients die within one month and about 30% within one year.About one-third remain disabled; the remaining third either recover fully or regain independence of daily living. Post-stroke language disorders are frequent and include aphasia, alexia, agraphia and acalculia. Th ere are diff erent defi nitions of aphasias, but the most widely accepted neurological and/or neuropsy-chological defi nition is that aphasia is a loss or impairment of verbal communication which occurs as a consequence of brain dysfunction. It manifests in impairment of almost all verbal abilities-abnormal verbal expression, diffi culties in understanding spoken or written language, repetition, naming, reading and writing. During the history, many classifi cations of aphasia syndromes were established. For practical use classifi cation of aphasias according to fl uency, comprehension and abilities of naming it seems to be most suitable (nonfl uent aphasias: Broca's, transcoritcal motor, global and mixed transcortical aphasia; fl uent aphasias: anomic, conduction, Wernicke's, transcorti-cal sensory, subcortical aphasia). Aphasia is common consequence of left hemispheric lesion and most common neuropsychological consequence of stroke, with prevalence of one third of all stroke patients in acute phase although exist reports on greater frequency. Many speech impairments have a tendency of spontaneous recovery. Spontaneous recovery is most remarkable in fi rst three months after stoke onset. Recovery of aphasias caused by ischemic stroke occurs sooner, and it is the most intensive in the fi rst two weeks. In aphasias caused by hemorrhagic stroke, spontaneous recovery is slower and occurs in the period from the fourth to the eighth weeks after the stroke. Th e course and the outcome of the aphasia depend a lot on the type of aphasia. Regardless of the fact that a significant number of aphasias spontaneously improves, it is necessary to start the treatment as soon as possible. Th e writing and reading disorders in stroke patients (alexias and agraphias) are more frequent ten it verifi ed in routine …