Bruce Willis has aphasia. Here’s how USC has researched ways to recover for years
Aphasia came to the forefront of conversation Wednesday after actor Bruce Willis announced he had the condition, but it’s something Julius Fridriksson has been intimately familiar with for years.
As director of the Aphasia Lab and principal investigator at the Center for Study of Aphasia Recovery (C-STAR) at the University of South Carolina, Fridriksson and a team of researchers have spent years trying to help people with the condition. In fact, the lab is in the middle of a five-year, $12.5 million study on two methods of recovery and their effectiveness.
“We’re one of the top three aphasia centers in the world,” Fridriksson said. “We’re definitely one of the highest-funded groups in the world.”
What is aphasia?
Aphasia is usually caused by strokes. This communication disorder, which affects approximately 30% of stroke survivors, results from an injury to the brain that impacts patients’ ability to speak, listen, read and or write. The severity of aphasia can range from very mild symptoms, like coming up with the right words when talking, to very severe issues like difficulty understanding and speaking.
South Carolina’s Midlands area has one of the highest rates of stroke in the nation, Fridriksson said.
“South Carolina is one of the perfect places to do this research since the rate of strokes is so high,” he said.
Aphasia Lab
The Aphasia Lab’s studies are aimed at improving communication function following stroke. Anyone who has had a stroke and now has difficulty communicating qualifies for their research. According to the lab’s website, the research enables stroke survivors to receive an MRI that will be available to them upon request. Also, participation in the research is free of charge.
Aphasia research
Fridriksson in 2016 won an $11.2 million grant from the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders — one of the largest research grants USC had ever seen. It let Fridriksson establish C-STAR under the umbrella of the Aphasia Lab. .
From 2016 to 2020, the team of researchers used the grant to better understand individual responses and recovery for stroke patients who have acute or chronic aphasia. Their projects have included identifying factors that predict individual responses to different treatments, providing aphasia therapy and electrical brain stimulation to recent patients to improve the recovery environment in the brain, combining brain imaging and initial testing to accurately predict expected recovery and comparing neuropsychological models of speech and language in people who have not experienced stroke or injury to those who are recovering.
The researchers are currently in the middle of a second five-year study phase, thanks to another $12.5 million in grant funding. They’ve been expanding their work to include two new clinical trials and two large projects.
One of the trials has been testing whether telerehab — rehabilitation performed remotely — is as effective as in-person rehab for aphasia.
The second trial has been testing whether the anti-depressant Escitalopram improves early recovery from aphasia in patients who have recently had a stroke.
Both projects have used artificial intelligence to predict recovery from stroke, based on brain health and understanding how language is rooted in the brain.
“We’re trying to translate the science into clinical practice,” Fridriksson said. “We’re trying to figure out how to get the brain to heal itself.”
This story was originally published March 31, 2022 at 10:13 AM.
