Health Outcomes Predict dEmentia in Stroke (HOPES)

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract The Center for the Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR, P50-DC014664) explores recovery and prognosis from language impairments post-stroke. We utilize various neuroimaging techniques and behavioral assessments to identify factors associated with recovery. Recent evidence from our group has shown that measures of health are indicators of prognosis, with poorer health being associated with factors often implicated in dementia research (presence of comorbidities, rate of exercise, and extent of small vessel disease). This proposal will allow us to examine the relationship between modifiable (health) and unmodifiable (genetics, stroke) risk factors in stroke aphasia to 1) predict mild cognitive impairment, 2) investigate speech and language therapy gains, and 3) along with our neurotypical dataset (Aging Brain Cohort; ABC), investigate factors associated with the rate of cognitive decline in stroke aphasia vs typical aging. We will examine these questions using an existing database of individuals with stroke aphasia (N=104) which includes patient demographics, stroke and aphasia data, alongside our neurotypical database (N=96) which includes patient demographic, genetic data, neural measures, health factors and behavior). Our planned analyses will provide novel insights into the modifiable and unmodifiable risk factors for developing cognitive decline following a stroke, and the interaction between cognitive decline and speech and language therapy gains in stroke aphasia.