A case of acquired stuttering.

This case study of acquired stuttering confirms the reality of acquired or neurogenic stuttering. It further shows that the syndrome can exist in its own right. It is not simply a secondary psychological consequence of brain damage but a direct result of the cerebral lesion.

Blind, deaf and mute after a status epilepticus caused by hyperpyrexia from shigellosis--a case report with a four-year follow-up.

A nearly four-year-old boy awoke blind, deaf and mute from a coma of five days duration after a status epilepticus caused by hyperpyrexia from shigellosis. The authors give a detailed report of the recovery. Visual and auditory functions recovered within six months after the onset but expressive language difficulties remained.

Transient loss of speech followed by dysarthria after removal of posterior fossa tumour.

The authors report three children who suffered transient loss of speech during six to eight weeks following removal of a large midline cerebellar tumour. None manifested speech difficulties immediately after surgery, but all developed mutism within 24 to 48 hours. The speech of all children slowly but completely recovered, after a period of severe dysarthria.

The Landau-Kleffner syndrome or 'acquired aphasia with convulsive disorder'. Long-term follow-up of six children and a review of the recent literature.

We present six patients with acquired aphasia with convulsive disorder (Landau-Kleffner syndrome) and distill the main clinical features from a review of the recent literature. Our series showed that the clinical picture can vary at onset, as well as during the course of the illness, and that the long-term outcome of the aphasia is quite unpredictable, despite the fact that epilepsy and electroencephalographic abnormalities usually regress or disappear with the years. We also call attention to the electroencephalographic phenomenon of electrical status epilepticus during slow sleep, and we suggest that the course of the aphasia may well be linked to the appearance and disappearance of electrical status epilepticus during slow sleep.

Acquired childhood aphasia. Outcome 1 year after onset.

The effects of the variables age at onset, cause, severity and bilaterality of lesion, and type of aphasia on course and outcome were investigated in a group of 28 aphasic children. Analysis of spontaneous speech and tests of auditory verbal comprehension were used to determine the presence of aphasia. The severity of the cerebral lesion was assessed using a rating scale for computed tomographic scans.

The Landau-Kleffner syndrome--case report and theoretical considerations.

The Landau-Kleffner syndrome is an acquired condition in children consisting of aphasia and epileptic discharges in the EEG with or without clinical manifestation of epilepsy. We describe a case of a very young child whose neurologic and language development before onset of the illness was uniquely well documented. Apart from her aphasia she showed several other disturbances of higher cortical functions in the acute phase of the illness.

[The Landau-Kleffner syndrome: a special form of acquired childhood aphasia].

The syndrome of "acuqired aphasia with convulsive disorder" occurs in children between 3 and 7 years of age and is characterized by a language disorder with heterogeneous epileptic manifestations. The pathogenesis is unknown. The course can show marked fluctuations.

Landau-Kleffner syndrome: a case study with a fourteen-year follow-up.

In a 14-year follow-up the improvement of language functions and the decrease of EEG abnormalities are described in a girl with the Landau-Kleffner syndrome. In this case, the results of subsequent EEG recordings do not permit conclusions about the course of the aphasia. Disappearance of focal spike and waves, bilateral paroxysms and slow background activity lack synchronicity with improvement of language.

Disturbances of spatial perception in children.

Spatial perception was tested in 12 children with a localized brain lesion by means of the rod orientation test, line orientation test and facial recognition test. Only children with a lesion of the right hemisphere showed a disturbance of spatial perception.

Unexpected improvement after prolonged post-traumatic vegetative state.

Presentation of an unusual case of severe head injury in which, after three and a half years of vegetative state, a gradual return to consciousness and personality occurred.

Naming in aphasic children: analysis of paraphasic errors.

In the spontaneous speech of aphasic children paraphasias have been described. This analysis of naming errors during recovery showed that neologisms, literal and verbal paraphasias occurred. The etiology affected the recovery course of neologisms, but not other errors.

Acquired dysarthria in childhood: an analysis of dysarthric features in relation to neurologic deficits.

We analyzed the dysarthria of four children with bilateral supranuclear facial palsy and four with bilateral peripheral facial palsy. The children with peripheral lesions had only moderate dysarthria, characterized mainly by weakened vowels and consonants and by hypernasality. In contrast, children with supranuclear lesions were anarthric at first, followed by severe dysarthria with reduced stress and many pauses.

[A form of acquired childhood aphasia: Landau-Kleffner syndrome].

The Landau-Kleffner syndrome is a childhood disorder associating a loss of previous acquired speech with seizures and bilateral abnormalities on the EEG. The precise aetiology of this syndrome is unknown. Epilepsy is easily regulated by anticonvulsants.

Unexpected improvement after prolonged posttraumatic vegetative state.

An 18-year-old girl suffered a severe head injury in a traffic accident. As a result, she was vegetative for about 21/2 years. She then showed signs of a gradually returning responsiveness.

Monoclonal antibody to human lysosomal alpha-glucosidase in immunocytochemistry: unexpected reactivity with cytoskeletal structures.

A well-characterized monoclonal antibody against human lysosomal alpha-glucosidase has been used for the immunohistochemical localization of the enzyme in cultured human skin fibroblasts. Under conditions that are routinely used for the preparation of cells for immunocytochemistry, this monoclonal antibody does not react with acid alpha-glucosidase but in contrast with components of the cytoskeleton. Double-labelling experiments with the monoclonal antibody and rabbit anti-vimentin antiserum identified the cytoskeletal components as intermediate filaments.

Problems in measuring cognitive recovery after acute brain injury.

The measurement of cognitive recovery after traumatic brain damage raises a number of methodological and practical problems. The precise schedule of testing, the specification of functions to be measured, the separation of practice from recovery, and the specification of appropriate control or comparison groups must all be considered by the researcher. In addition, strenuous efforts must be made to achieve as high a follow-up rate as possible.

A case of acquired aphasia and convulsive disorder: some linguistic aspects of recovery and breakdown.

Among the cases of acquired aphasia and convulsive disorder several children are reported to have experienced more than one aphasic period. We present such a case in more detail, with emphasis on some characteristics of spontaneous speech. The occurrence of paraphasias, and in particular of neologisms, appeared to be associated with language recovery and breakdown.

The analysis of acquired dysarthria in childhood.

A rare case of acquired dysarthria caused by a brain-stem infarct in a six-year-old boy is reported. Applying the analysis of Darley et al. (1969, 1975), 14 'dimensions' of dysarthria were recognised.

Factors related to prognosis of acquired aphasia in children.

In a follow up study of 15 children with acquired aphasia, it was found that the persistent presence of concomitant neurological disorders was important for the final outcome. Prognosis seemed to be related to etiology, EEG disturbances and the severity of comprehension deficit at the onset of aphasia.