CONTEXT:

Aphasia is a very disabling condition caused by neurological diseases. In Brazil, we have little data on the profile of aphasics treated in rehabilitation centers.

OBJECTIVE:

To present a descriptive study of 192 patients, providing a reference sample of speech and language disturbances among Brazilians.

DESIGN:

Retrospective study.

SETTING:

Speech Pathology Unit linked to the Neurology Division of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo.

SAMPLE:

All patients (192) referred to our Speech Pathology service from 1995 to 2000.

PROCEDURES:

We collected data relating to demographic variables, etiology, language evaluation (functional evaluation, Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, Boston Naming and Token Test), and neuroimaging studies.

MAIN MEASUREMENTS:

The results obtained in language tests and the clinical and neuroimaging data were organized and classified. Seventy aphasics were chosen for constructing a profile. Fourteen subjects with left single-lobe dysfunction were analyzed in detail. Seventeen aphasics were compared with 17 normal subjects, all performing the Token Test.

RESULTS:

One hundred subjects (52 percent) were men and 92 (48 percent) women. Their education varied from 0 to 16 years (average: 6.5; standard deviation: 4.53).

We identified the lesion sites in 104 patients:

89 percent in the left hemisphere and 58 percent due to stroke. The incidence of aphasia was 70 percent; dysarthria and apraxia, 6 percent; functional alterations in communication, 17 percent; and 7 percent were normal. Statistically significant differences appeared when comparing the subgroup to controls in the Token Test.

CONCLUSIONS:

We believe that this sample contributes to a better understanding of neurological patients with speech and language disturbances and may be useful as a reference for health professionals involved in the rehabilitation of such disorders