Alzheimer's Disease Center, Comprehensive Center on Brain Aging, New York University Langone Medical Center, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Clin Interv Aging. 2013;8:1007-14. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S39959. Epub 2013 Aug 2.
Alzheimer's disease is characterized by progressively worsening deficits in several cognitive domains, including language. Language impairment in Alzheimer's disease primarily occurs because of decline in semantic and pragmatic levels of language processing. Given the centrality of language to cognitive function, a number of language-specific scales have been developed to assess language deficits throughout progression of the disease and to evaluate the effects of pharmacotherapy on language function. Trials of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, used for the treatment of clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, have generally focused on overall cognitive effects. However, in the current report, we review data indicating specific beneficial effects of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors on language abilities in patients with Alzheimer's disease, with a particular focus on outcomes among patients in the moderate and severe disease stages, during which communication is at risk and preservation is particularly important.
阿尔茨海默病的特征是在包括语言在内的几个认知领域的认知能力逐渐下降。阿尔茨海默病的语言障碍主要是由于语义和语用语言处理水平的下降。鉴于语言对认知功能的重要性，已经开发了许多特定于语言的量表，以评估疾病进展过程中的语言缺陷，并评估药物治疗对语言功能的影响。乙酰胆碱酯酶抑制剂用于治疗阿尔茨海默病的临床症状，临床试验通常侧重于整体认知效果。然而，在本报告中，我们回顾了数据，这些数据表明乙酰胆碱酯酶抑制剂对阿尔茨海默病患者的语言能力有特定的益处，特别是关注中度和重度疾病阶段患者的结果，在这些阶段，沟通存在风险，保存语言能力尤为重要。
