Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea | [b] Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea | [c] Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Daejin Medical Center Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital, Sungnam-si, Korea
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Soo Jeong Han, MD, Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, School of Medicine, Ewha Womans University, 911-1, Mok-dong, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul 158-710, Korea.
Tel.: +82 2 2650 5035; Fax: +82 2 2650 5145; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Objective:To investigate the therapeutic effect of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and speech and language therapy (SLT) on the improvement of performance on the Korean-version of the Western Aphasia Battery (K-WAB) in post-stroke non-fluent aphasic patients. Methods:Twenty post-stroke, non-fluent aphasic patients were enrolled and assigned to one of two groups: a case group (n = 10) or a control group (n = 10). Participants were recruited from the inpatient clinic of the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Department of Bundang Jesaeng General Hospital from March 2011 to January 2012. The case group received rTMS and SLT and the control group received SLT; both groups received these therapies for four weeks. Language functioning was evaluated using K-WAB before and after treatment. Results:There were no significant differences between the groups' baseline characteristics and initial values (p > 0.05). After four weeks of therapy, there were significant improvements in repetition and naming in the case group (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant improvement in the control group (p > 0.05). Conclusions:rTMS combined with SLT can be an effective therapeutic method for treating aphasia in post-stroke non-fluent aphasic patients, although additional controlled and more systemic studies should be conducted.
Keywords: Stroke, aphasia, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation
