Speech and language therapy study for people with primary progressive aphasia
Studies tailored speech and language therapy in adults with primary progressive aphasia.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Speech and Language Interventions for Italian People With PPA
Key facts
- Where
- Bari and Milan, ItalySee the 2 sites
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 40 and 85 years old?
Source: NCT06739967, who can take part
Where in Italy
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCSBari, ItalyTaking people
- IRCCS Ospedale San RaffaeleMilan, ItalyTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri SpA
- Trial code
- NCT06739967
- Record updated
- 26 October 2026
- Original description
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is an umbrella term used to refer to several clinical variants that manifest as an insidious deterioration of speech/language skills, usually due to frontotemporal lobar degeneration and/or Alzheimer's disease. Consensus criteria have been proposed by an international community regarding the sub-classification of PPA into three variants: (1) semantic variant PPA, characterized by impaired confrontation naming and single-word comprehension; (2) logopenic variant PPA), characterised by word-finding difficulties and sentence repetition deficits; and (3) non-fluent variant, characterised by agrammatism with or without apraxia of speech.Read full original descriptionShow less
Speech and Language-Tailored Interventions for People With Primary Progressive Aphasia
Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) is an umbrella term used to refer to several clinical variants that manifest as an insidious deterioration of speech/language skills, usually due to frontotemporal lobar degeneration and/or Alzheimer's disease. Consensus criteria have been proposed by an international community regarding the sub-classification of PPA into three variants: (1) semantic variant PPA, characterized by impaired confrontation naming and single-word comprehension; (2) logopenic variant PPA), characterised by word-finding difficulties and sentence repetition deficits; and (3) non-fluent variant, characterised by agrammatism with or without apraxia of speech.
Speech and language therapists (SLTs) play a crucial role in the diagnostic process and in setting a therapeutic path along with monitoring the evolution of the clinical picture. Despite growing evidence supporting the benefits of speech-language intervention, the frequency with which individuals with PPA are referred for speech and language services, is suboptimal likely due to skepticism regarding the value of speech and language therapy in the context of neurodegeneration, the scarcity of SLTs with expertise in the treatment of PPA, the lack of awareness regarding the role of the SLT amongst referrers, and the geographical barriers that impede access to in-person speech and language services. In Italy, patients with PPA are rarely offered treatment options due to a lack of understanding of the disorder on the part of health professionals and erroneous assumptions regarding the utility of treatment in patients facing a worsening prognosis.
The primary aim of this pilot study is to develop tailored speech and language interventions for patients with different variants of PPA by addressing their linguistic and cognitive difficulties. Secondly, to explore the intervention's effect also on untreated tasks and assess the long-term maintenance of the proposed interventions by monitoring patients for up to six months. Finally, in each PPA variant, the investigators aim to investigate which variables among the sociodemographic, clinical, linguistic/cognitive, and brain MRI features at baseline predict successful clinical results, as well as which structural and functional brain changes are associated with speech and language improvements.
Inclusion: Diagnosis of PPA according to the current clinical criteria (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011); Mild PPA defined using the Progressive Aphasia Severity Scale (PASS); Age between 40 and 85 years; Patients with Italian mother tongue; Patients with the ability to sign the informed consent; Patients with the ability to comply with the study procedures; Patients with stable pharmacological treatment for at least 4 weeks.
Exclusion: Concurrent participation in other pharmacological and non-pharmacological experimental studies; Presence of other neurological or psychiatric diseases, including cerebrovascular disease; Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) Score <15; Severe and uncorrected hearing loss or visual disturbances; Inability to repeat multi-syllable words (4 syllables).