Intervention for Communication Quality of Life in Primary Progressive Aphasia

NCT07219680 | Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: R61AG089318
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn whether a personalized, multi-component, virtual speech language treatment program can improve communication and quality of life for adults with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) and their primary communication partners. The study will enroll participants who speak English and/or Spanish. The main questions the study aims to answer are:

• Is the telerehabilitation program feasible and acceptable for people with PPA and their study partners?
• Do participants with PPA and study partners find treatment beneficial?
• What patterns of treatment response are seen in participants?
• Which outcome measures are most useful for evaluating changes in communication and quality of life? Researchers will compare participants who receive intervention immediately to participants assigned to a waitlist control group (who will receive treatment after a delay) to see whether participation in the treatment program is associated with improvements in communication and quality of life. Participants will:
• Take part in speech language therapy sessions delivered by video visit that combine restorative, compensatory, and partner-focused communication strategies. Treatment may take place after a waiting period.
• Receive education and communication training together with their partner.
• Complete speech, language, and cognitive assessments.
• Complete questionnaires about communication abilities, daily functioning, and quality of life.

Conditions

Logopenic Progressive Aphasia (LPA); Nonfluent Aphasia, Progressive; Semantic Aphasia; Primary Progressive Aphasia(PPA); Semantic Dementia; Semantic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (svPPA); Logopenic Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia; Logopenic Variant of Primary Progressive Aphasia (LPA); Logopenic Progressive Aphasia; Nonfluent Variant Primary Progressive Aphasia (nfvPPA); Nonfluent Progressive Aphasia; Progressive Aphasia

Keywords

speech-language pathology; neurodegenerative disease; logopenic; nonfluent; semantic; script training; teletherapy; remote; multimodal communication training; partner training; augmentative and alternative communication; AAC; Communication Book; bilingual; Spanish; Hispanic; Latino

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Change in spoken naming of trained/untrained items

  Percent correctly named trained/untrained pictures

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Change in script production accuracy

  Percent correct intelligible, scripted words for trained/untrained scripts

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Change in barriers and facilitators in dyad conversation

  Number of conversation barriers and facilitators observed in conversation

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Communication Modality Inventory

  A likert-type survey characterizing frequency and type of communication modalities used in conversation, administered to both the person with PPA and their conversation partner.

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Change on Quick Aphasia Battery

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Change on Aphasia Impact Questionnaire

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Acceptability and Perception of Change Survey

  post-treatment (approximately 12-13 weeks after treatment onset)

• Change on Adult Carers Quality of Life Questionnaire

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

• Change on Brief - Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief-COPE)

  change from pre-treatment or waitlist to post-treatment or waitlist (12-13 weeks), and follow-up at 3 months post-treatment

Study Arms (2)

Waitlist Control

OTHER

Individuals in the waitlist-control group will undergo initial assessment followed by a waiting interval of 12 (Multi-VISTA) or 13 (Multi-LRCT) weeks. Following the waiting period, they will again complete baseline assessments prior to the treatment phase (co-development of training materials and Multi-VISTA or Multi-LRCT treatment).

Behavioral: Multicomponent Lexical Retrieval Cascade Training; Behavioral: Multicomponent Video Implemented Script Training in Aphasia

Immediate Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Individuals in the immediate treatment group will undergo initial assessment followed immediately by the treatment phase (co-development of training materials and Multi-VISTA or Multi-LRCT treatment).

Behavioral: Multicomponent Lexical Retrieval Cascade Training; Behavioral: Multicomponent Video Implemented Script Training in Aphasia

Interventions

Multicomponent Video Implemented Script Training in Aphasia BEHAVIORAL

In person or via teletherapy: A multi-component treatment incorporating elements of restitutive, compensatory, and care-partner focused interventions. Treatment focuses on production of individually-tailored, personally relevant scripts. The participant completes 30 minutes per day of independent practice, during which they speak in unison with a video model. Biweekly (45-90 minute) sessions with a clinician target clear and accurate script production, memorization, and conversational usage, as well as multimodal communication. The participant meets six times during the course of treatment with a study partner (e.g., spouse) for communication counseling, education, and practice of communication strategies.

Also known as: Multi-VISTA

Immediate Treatment; Waitlist Control

Multicomponent Lexical Retrieval Cascade Training BEHAVIORAL

In person or via teletherapy: A multi-component treatment incorporating elements of restitutive, compensatory, and care-partner focused interventions. Participants work on producing names of personally relevant targets in multiple communication modalities. Biweekly (45-90 minute) sessions with a clinician target multimodal communication and the use of strategies to support word retrieval. These skills are also trained via daily independent practice. The participant meets six times during the course of treatment with a study partner (e.g., spouse) for communication counseling, education, and practice of communication strategies.

Also known as: Multi-LRCT

Immediate Treatment; Waitlist Control

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 40 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• A PPA (Gorno-Tempini et al., 2011) or "PPA-plus" (Mesulam et al., 2001) diagnosis
• MMSE score of 15 or higher and must be able to produce single monosyllabic words intelligibly
• Must speak English, Spanish or both languages (i.e., bilingual speakers of English or Spanish)
• Hearing and vision adequate for participation in teleconference meetings
• Must have a study partner available (someone who will commit to attending teleconference sessions, as needed, during assessment and treatment phases)
• Partners must express willingness to attend and participate in assessment and treatment sessions, including those targeting dyadic communication goals
• Partners must speak English, Spanish or both languages (i.e., bilingual speakers of English or Spanish)
• Partner's hearing and vision should be adequate for participation in teleconference meetings
• The participant and/or study partner must have basic experience using a computer.

You may not qualify if:

• Other central nervous system or medical diagnosis that can account for symptoms
• Psychiatric diagnosis that can account for symptoms

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator
• Maya Henry: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Texas

Austin, Texas, 78712, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (3)

• Henry ML, Hubbard HI, Grasso SM, Mandelli ML, Wilson SM, Sathishkumar MT, Fridriksson J, Daigle W, Boxer AL, Miller BL, Gorno-Tempini ML. Retraining speech production and fluency in non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia. Brain. 2018 Jun 1;141(6):1799-1814. doi: 10.1093/brain/awy101.

  PMID: 29718131 BACKGROUND

• Henry ML, Hubbard HI, Grasso SM, Dial HR, Beeson PM, Miller BL, Gorno-Tempini ML. Treatment for Word Retrieval in Semantic and Logopenic Variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia: Immediate and Long-Term Outcomes. J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2019 Aug 15;62(8):2723-2749. doi: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-L-18-0144. Epub 2019 Aug 7.

  PMID: 31390290 BACKGROUND

• Dial HR, Hinshelwood HA, Grasso SM, Hubbard HI, Gorno-Tempini ML, Henry ML. Investigating the utility of teletherapy in individuals with primary progressive aphasia. Clin Interv Aging. 2019 Feb 25;14:453-471. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S178878. eCollection 2019.

  PMID: 30880927 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• University of Texas Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab
• University of Texas Aphasia Multilingual Aphasia and Dementia Research Lab

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Aphasia, Primary Progressive; Frontotemporal Dementia; Primary Progressive Nonfluent Aphasia; Aphasia; Neurodegenerative Diseases

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Dementia; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Speech Disorders; Language Disorders; Communication Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration; TDP-43 Proteinopathies; Proteostasis Deficiencies; Metabolic Diseases; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Study Officials

• Maya L Henry, PhD

  University of Texas at Austin

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Stephanie M Grasso, PhD

  University of Texas at Austin

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Henry Lab Research Coordinator

CONTACT

512-471-3420; aphasialab@austin.utexas.edu

Grasso Lab Research Coordinator

CONTACT

512-232-1440; multilingual.aphasia@austin.utexas.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor, Associate Dean for Research

Model Details: Participants in Arm 1, the immediate treatment group, will proceed immediately to initial assessments followed by the treatment phase (co-development of training materials and Multi-VISTA or Multi-LRCT treatment). Participants in Arm 2, the waitlist control group, will undergo initial assessment followed by a waiting interval of 12 (Multi-VISTA) or 13 (Multi-LRCT) weeks. Following the waiting period, they will be reassessed for cognitive-linguistic and participant-reported outcome measures prior to the treatment phase (co-development of training materials and Multi-VISTA or Multi-LRCT treatment).

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: October 20, 2025
• First Posted: October 22, 2025
• Study Start: April 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Last Updated: April 21, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

US (1)