Advanced Brain Age and Chronic Poststroke Aphasia Severity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neurology
• Radiology

Background:

• Chronic post-stroke language impairment (aphasia) severity is influenced by factors beyond lesion size and chronological age.
• Brain age, a concept reflecting biological brain aging, is emerging as a potential indicator of cognitive health.
• Advanced brain age has been linked to cognitive decline in healthy older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between advanced brain age and chronic post-stroke language impairments.
• To determine if advanced brain age predicts language impairment severity and therapy outcomes in aphasia patients.
• To assess the role of proportional brain age difference (PBAD) in post-stroke recovery.

Main Methods:

• A cohort study retrospectively analyzed 93 participants with chronic aphasia (≥12 months post-stroke).
• Neuroimaging techniques were used to estimate brain age, and proportional brain age difference (PBAD) was calculated.
• Multiple linear regression models assessed the association between PBAD and behavioral language test performance (WAB-R, PNT, PPTT).

Main Results:

• Advanced brain age was significantly associated with poorer performance on semantic (PPTT) and language (WAB-R) tasks.
• Among participants with advanced brain aging, PBAD independently predicted treatment gains on the PNT (9% variance explained).

Conclusions:

• Advanced brain aging is a significant factor associated with chronic post-stroke aphasia severity.
• Brain age is an important determinant of post-stroke language recovery and therapy outcomes.
• Personalized health factors, including brain age, should inform therapeutic intervention planning for stroke survivors.