Pharmacological approaches to the treatment of aphasia.

The catecholaminergic agonists, d-amphetamine and bromocriptine, have shown some promise in the treatment of aphasia. Although studies indicate that patients with aphasia experience language improvement after taking these agents, the experimental controls necessary to prove their efficacy are lacking. Rigorously controlled investigations using a significant number of aphasic patients and a double-blind-placebo controlled design, as well as studies using these drugs as acute care performance enhancers are needed.