Health TrialsbyHealthPanel

Intervention for Communication Quality of Life in Primary Progressive Aphasia

ConditionsPrimary Progressive Aphasia(PPA)Semantic DementiaLogopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA)Nonfluent Aphasia, ProgressiveProgressive AphasiaSemantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (svPPA)Semantic AphasiaLogopenic Variant Primary Progressive AphasiaLogopenic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (LPA)Logopenic Progressive AphasiaNonfluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (nfvPPA)Nonfluent Progressive Aphasia
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age40+
SponsorMaya Henry

About this trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a personalized, multi-component, virtual speech language treatment program can improve communication and quality of life for adults with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and their primary communication partners. The study will enroll participants who speak English and/or Spanish.

The main questions the study aims to answer are:

* Is the telerehabilitation program feasible and acceptable for people with PPA and their study partners? * Do participants with PPA and study partners find treatment beneficial? * What patterns of treatment response are seen in participants? * Which outcome measures are most useful for evaluating changes in communication and quality of life?

Researchers will compare participants who receive intervention immediately to participants assigned to a waitlist control group (who will receive treatment after a delay) to see whether participation in the treatment program is associated with improvements in communication and quality of life.

Participants will:

* Take part in speech language therapy sessions delivered by video visit that combine restorative, compensatory, and partner-focused communication strategies. Treatment may take place after a waiting period. * Receive education and communication training together with their partner. * Complete speech, language, and cognitive assessments. * Complete questionnaires about communication abilities, daily functioning, and quality of life.

Eligibility criteria

This trial does not accept healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

A PPA (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011) or "PPA-plus" (Mesulam et al., 2001) diagnosis

MMSE score of 15 or higher and must be able to produce single monosyllabic words intelligibly

Must speak English, Spanish or both languages (i.e., bilingual speakers of English or Spanish)

Hearing and vision adequate for participation in teleconference meetings

Disqualifiers

Other central nervous system or medical diagnosis that can account for symptoms

Psychiatric diagnosis that can account for symptoms

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

  • Multicomponent Lexical Retrieval Cascade Training

    Behavioral

    In person or via teletherapy: A multi-component treatment incorporating elements of restitutive, compensatory, and care-partner focused interventions. Participants work on producing names of personally relevant targets in multiple communication modalities. Biweekly (45-90 minute) sessions with a clinician target multimodal communication and the use of strategies to support word retrieval. These skills are also trained via daily independent practice. The participant meets six times during the course of treatment with a study partner (e.g., spouse) for communication counseling, education, and practice of communication strategies.

  • Multicomponent Video Implemented Script Training in Aphasia

    Behavioral

    In person or via teletherapy: A multi-component treatment incorporating elements of restitutive, compensatory, and care-partner focused interventions. Treatment focuses on production of individually-tailored, personally relevant scripts. The participant completes 30 minutes per day of independent practice, during which they speak in unison with a video model. Biweekly (45-90 minute) sessions with a clinician target clear and accurate script production, memorization, and conversational usage, as well as multimodal communication. The participant meets six times during the course of treatment with a study partner (e.g., spouse) for communication counseling, education, and practice of communication strategies.

Treatment groups

30 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groups
Group A: Waitlist ControlOther 2 interventions
Group B: Immediate TreatmentExperimental treatment 2 interventions

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

1

Change in spoken naming of trained/untrained items

Percent correctly named trained/untrained pictures

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment
2

Change in script production accuracy

Percent correct intelligible, scripted words for trained/untrained scripts

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment
3

Change in barriers and facilitators in dyad conversation

Number of conversation barriers and facilitators observed in conversation

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment
4

Communication Modality Inventory

A likert-type survey characterizing frequency and type of communication modalities used in conversation, administered to both the person with PPA and their conversation partner.

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

Secondary outcomes

1

Change on Quick Aphasia Battery

A standardized aphasia assessment.

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment
2

Change on Aphasia Impact Questionnaire

A psychosocial questionnaire for individuals with aphasia. Scores range from 0-84, with higher scores indicating greater impact of aphasia.

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment
3

Acceptability and Perception of Change Survey

A survey characterizing acceptability of and perceived response to treatment.

Time frame
post-treatment (approximately 12-13 weeks after treatment onset)
4

Change on Adult Carers Quality of Life Questionnaire

A measure evaluating quality of life for caregivers. Scores range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating greater quality of life.

Time frame
change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

Other outcomes

Sponsors and contacts

Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.

Maya Henry

Lead sponsor

University of Texas at Austin

Sponsor institution

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Collaborator

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Collaborator

Source ClinicalTrials.gov
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