Improvement of spontaneous language in stroke patients with chronic aphasia

http://search.proquest.com.libproxy.wlu.ca/medline/docview/1752351203/8ADFE7B2F8C49E4PQ/10?accountid=15090

The International journal of neuroscience 126.3 (March 2016): 235-242.

Improvement of spontaneous language in stroke patients with chronic aphasia treated with music therapy: a randomized controlled trial.

Raglio, Alfredo (Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Italy); Oasi, Osmano (Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy); Gianotti, Marta (Department of Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Medicine , IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy); Rossi, Agnese (Department of Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Medicine , IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy); Goulene, Karine (Department of Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Medicine , IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy); Stramba-Badiale, Marco (Department of Geriatrics and Cardiovascular Medicine , IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Italy)

Abstract
The aim of this research is to evaluate the effects of active music therapy (MT) based on free-improvisation (relational approach) in addition to speech language therapy (SLT) compared with SLT alone (communicative-pragmatic approach: Promoting Aphasic’s Communicative Effectiveness) in stroke patients with chronic aphasia. The experimental group (n = 10) was randomized to 30 MT individual sessions over 15 weeks in addition to 30 SLT individual sessions while the control group (n = 10) was randomized to only 30 SLT sessions during the same period. Psychological and speech language assessment were made before (T0) and after (T1) the treatments. The study shows a significant improvement in spontaneous speech in the experimental group (Aachener Aphasie subtest: p = 0.020; Cohen’s d = 0.35); the 50% of the experimental group showed also an improvement in vitality scores of Short Form Health Survey (chi-square test = 4.114; p = 0.043). The current trial highlights the possibility that the combined use of MT and SLT can lead to a better result in the rehabilitation of patients with aphasia than SLT alone.