Linguistic development in a patient with Landau-Kleffner syndrome: a nine-year follow-up

Neuropediatrics. 1995 Feb;26(1):19-25. doi: 10.1055/s-2007-979714.

Abstract

A longitudinal linguistic analysis of aphasic disorder in a 15-year-old boy affected by Landau-Kleffner syndrome followed since the age of 6 is reported. The phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical levels of verbal deficits have been evaluated by means of collected samples of spontaneous language and a battery of linguistic tests. The clinical course has fluctuated with improvement and worsening of aphasia and epilepsy; at the end of the follow-up the boy was seizure-free and a medium-degree disturbance in language production and comprehension was present. The results of the linguistic evaluation suggest that the aphasic disturbance was related to a deficiency in phonological decoding which leads to phonological, morphosyntactic and lexical disturbances. A temporal relationship between the electroclinical picture and the aphasia has been observed: the persistent improvement in linguistic performances took place only after the disappearance of the seizures and of the EEG epileptic anomalies during sleep.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adrenocorticotropic Hormone
  • Age of Onset
  • Aphasia / diagnosis*
  • Aphasia / physiopathology*
  • Brain Diseases / physiopathology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Epilepsy / physiopathology
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Humans
  • Language Development Disorders / physiopathology*
  • Language Tests
  • Linguistics*
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Neuropsychological Tests
  • Sleep
  • Syndrome*
  • Temporal Lobe / physiopathology
  • Wakefulness

Substances

  • Adrenocorticotropic Hormone