Variability in aphasia following subcortical hemorrhagic lesion

BACKGROUND Vascular lesion of the subcortical structures leads to aphasia. Cortical hypoperfusion has been proposed to be the etiological mechanism in aphasia following subcortical vascular lesion. Subcortical aphasia shows considerable variability in its clinical profile. Such variability has been attributed to the variable sites of cortical hypoperfusion following ischemic lesion of the subcortical structures. PURPOSE This study investigated the variability in clinical aphasic profile following subcortical hemorrhagic lesion. METHODS We retrospectively investigated the clinical aphasic profiles of twelve patients who reported to our hospital during a period of one year with subcortical hemorrhagic lesions. All patients underwent routine neurological examination, neuroimaging (CT/MRI) investigations and linguistic assessment. RESULTS Eight patients exhibited lesion to the basal ganglia and four showed thalamic lesion. All of them showed considerable variability in their aphasic profile. CONCLUSION Subcortical hemorrhagic lesion leads to variability in aphasia. Variability in aphasia may be considered as an important consequence in subcortical vascular lesion. Observations from this study were suggestive of better preservation of, and when affected, faster recovery of comprehension skills.