Language in corticobasal syndrome: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Linguistics
• Clinical Neuroscience

Background:

• Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) frequently affects language abilities.
• The specific language profile and assessment methods in CBS remain under-researched.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically identify and characterize language impairments in patients diagnosed with corticobasal syndrome.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the Medline/PubMed database adhering to PRISMA guidelines.
• Keywords included "corticobasal syndrome" OR "corticobasal degeneration" AND "language".
• English-language articles focusing on language assessment in CBS were included without publication date restrictions.

Main Results:

• Analysis of 35 selected articles, encompassing 531 participants, revealed heterogeneous language deficits in 28 studies.
• Seven studies identified nonfluent primary progressive aphasia as a manifestation.
• The Western Aphasia Battery and Boston Naming Test were the most frequently employed assessment tools.

Conclusions:

• A singular, consistent linguistic profile for corticobasal syndrome could not be established from the reviewed literature.
• Language impairments in CBS are diverse, necessitating varied assessment approaches.