Why one side of the brain loses language in primary progressive aphasia
ASYMMETRIC NEURODEGENERATION AND LANGUAGE IN PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE APHASIA
['FUNDING_R01'] · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · NIH-11372834
It looks at how different brain diseases cause one-sided language loss in people with primary progressive aphasia and which imaging, fluid, and genetic signs go along with each cause.
Quick facts
| Phase | ['FUNDING_R01'] |
|---|---|
| Study type | Nih_funding |
| Sex | All |
| Sponsor | NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY (nih funded) |
| Locations | 1 site (CHICAGO, UNITED STATES) |
| Trial ID | NIH-11372834 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
What this research studies
If you join, the team will follow people with primary progressive aphasia over time with regular language tests, brain scans, and genetic and biofluid sampling. Your samples and data become part of a large, well-curated registry that the group has built over years. Researchers will group participants by the actual brain pathology (the underlying disease) rather than just the clinical language type and compare left-versus-right hemisphere changes using imaging, molecular markers, and gene expression. The aim is to find biological patterns that explain why the language-dominant (usually left) side is most affected and why memory can remain relatively spared.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People diagnosed with primary progressive aphasia who can come for regular cognitive testing and brain imaging and are willing to provide blood/CSF samples (and consider brain donation) are ideal candidates.
Not a fit: People without primary progressive aphasia or those unwilling to undergo imaging or provide biological samples are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors more accurately link a patient's language symptoms to the underlying disease and guide more targeted treatments or trial options.
How similar studies have performed: Northwestern's long-running PPA cohort has already produced useful findings, and this project builds on that success while adding new molecular and hemispheric comparisons.
Where this research is happening
CHICAGO, UNITED STATES
- NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY — CHICAGO, UNITED STATES (ACTIVE)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: MESULAM, MAREK-MARSEL M — NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- Study coordinator: MESULAM, MAREK-MARSEL M
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Conditions: Alzheimer disease dementia, Alzheimer syndrome, Alzheimer's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease and its related dementias