The resolving stroke and aphasia. A case study with computerized tomography
M. A. Naeser and R. W. Hayward
A 39-year-old man suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage in the region of the
left internal capsule deep to Wernicke's area. The location of the lesion
was confirmed by computerized tomography (CT) performed two days
postictally. Two weeks after admission, the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia
Examination (BDAE) diclosed Wernicke's aphasia. We hypothesize that the
hematoma exerted pressure on Wernicke's cortical area, thus causing the
resulting Wernicke's aphasia at that time. A CT scan three months later
showed absorption of the hematoma, with a residual low-density lesion deep
to Wernicke's area, in the region of the arcuate fasciculus. At that time,
BDAE testing disclosed a mild conduction aphasia. Serial CT scanning
combined with discriminating clinical evaluation of aphasia provides a
valuable opportunity for study of the processes underlying stroke
resolution and aphasia.
