Neurological diseases >>>> Apraxia - signs and treatment options

Apraxia - signs and treatment options.

Apraxia is a neurological disorder that manifests itself in the impossibility of performing motor functions (movements, gestures, facial expressions) regardless of the person's desire and physical abilities. Violation of motor activity can be unilateral (there are no movements in the limbs on one side of the body and half of the face) or bilateral.

The causes of apraxia are associated with damage to the temporal region, parietal and / or frontal lobes of the brain:

due to trauma to the cerebral cortex,
as a result of the development of brain tumors,
as a consequence of inflammatory processes (encephalitis),
due to the transferred infectious and toxic brain lesions,
due to disorders of cerebral circulation during strokes and aneurysms,
due to the development of degenerative processes in the brain in diseases of dementia, Alzheimer disease, Huntington disease, Parkinson disease and similar disorders.

Depending on which areas of the brain are affected, the forms of apraxia are also distinguished:

Frontal apraxia (the prefrontal region of the hemispheres is affected) - a person cannot plan a sequence of complex movements.
Motor apraxia (the lower parts of the left fronto-parietal zone are affected) - a person is able to plan a sequence of actions, but cannot clearly implement them. A person's movements are not coordinated, awkward, he cannot imitate movements.
Dynamic apraxia (the premotor region is affected) - a person cannot turn simple actions into a system of complex movements; movements appear cyclical, contrary to the person's intentions.
Cortical apraxia (the dominant cerebral hemisphere is affected) - a person has a violation of writing, speech functions, speech articulation.
Bilateral apraxia (the lower parts of the parietal zone of the dominant hemisphere are affected) - the interaction between the two hemispheres is disturbed in a person, the regulation of purposeful movements suffers.

Signs of apraxia:

The person is not able to perform the movements that he has planned,
Hand movements may differ from those that the person intended to perform,
Certain movements are replaced by indefinite movements,
Possible violations of the copying of movements, there is a cycle of movements,
Skills of drawing objects suffer, incorrect placement of details of an object when drawing or lack of drawing,
Articulation is impaired, resulting in slurred speech.

Apraxia treatment is complicated by the fact that brain damage can be persistent, surgical intervention is difficult, and lesions can be located in areas inaccessible for correction. Nevertheless, in the treatment of the disease, physiotherapy is used, persistent exercises to perform the movements necessary in everyday life, and occupational therapy adequate to the state. A neurologist selects individual schemes for partial restoration of motor functions. People with severe apraxia require round-the-clock supervision and care.