Apraxia

Template:DiseaseDisorder infobox

WikiDoc Resources for Apraxia
Articles
Most recent articles on Apraxia Most cited articles on Apraxia Review articles on Apraxia Articles on Apraxia in N Eng J Med, Lancet, BMJ
Media
Powerpoint slides on Apraxia Images of Apraxia Photos of Apraxia Podcasts & MP3s on Apraxia Videos on Apraxia
Evidence Based Medicine
Cochrane Collaboration on Apraxia Bandolier on Apraxia TRIP on Apraxia
Clinical Trials
Ongoing Trials on Apraxia at Clinical Trials.gov Trial results on Apraxia Clinical Trials on Apraxia at Google
Guidelines / Policies / Govt
US National Guidelines Clearinghouse on Apraxia NICE Guidance on Apraxia NHS PRODIGY Guidance FDA on Apraxia CDC on Apraxia
Books
Books on Apraxia
News
Apraxia in the news Be alerted to news on Apraxia News trends on Apraxia
Commentary
Blogs on Apraxia
Definitions
Definitions of Apraxia
Patient Resources / Community
Patient resources on Apraxia Discussion groups on Apraxia Patient Handouts on Apraxia Directions to Hospitals Treating Apraxia Risk calculators and risk factors for Apraxia
Healthcare Provider Resources
Symptoms of Apraxia Causes & Risk Factors for Apraxia Diagnostic studies for Apraxia Treatment of Apraxia
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
CME Programs on Apraxia
International
Apraxia en Espanol Apraxia en Francais
Business
Apraxia in the Marketplace Patents on Apraxia
Experimental / Informatics
List of terms related to Apraxia

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Parul Pahal, M.B.B.S[2]

Synonyms and keywords: Dyspraxia

Overview

Apraxia is a neurological disorder characterized by loss of the ability to execute or carry out learned purposeful movements, despite having the desire and the physical ability to perform the movements. It is a disorder of motor planning which may be acquired or developmental, but may not be caused by incoordination, sensory loss, or failure to comprehend simple commands (which can be tested by asking the person tested to recognize the correct movement from a series). The root word of Apraxia is praxis, Greek for an act, work, or deed. It is preceded by a privative a, meaning 'without'.

Types

There are several types of apraxia including:

• ideomotor (inability to carry out a motor command, for example, "act as if you are brushing your teeth" or "salute") - the form most frequently encountered by physicians,
  • limb apraxia when movements of the arms and legs are involved,
  • nonverbal-oral or buccofacial (inability to carry out facial movements on command, e.g., lick lips, whistle, cough, or wink),
• ideational (inability to create a plan for or idea of a specific movement, for example, "pick up this pen and write down your name"),
• limb-kinetic (inability to make fine, precise movements with a limb),
• verbal (difficulty planning the movements necessary for speech), also known as Apraxia of Speech (see below)
• constructional (inability to draw or construct simple configurations),
• oculomotor (difficulty moving the eye)

Each type may be tested at decreasing levels of complexity; if the person tested fails to execute the commands, you can make the movement yourself and ask that the person mimic it, or you can even give them a real object (like a tooth brush) and ask them to use it.

Apraxia may be accompanied by a language disorder called aphasia.

Apraxia of speech

Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) presents in children who have no evidence of difficulty with strength or range of motion of the articulators, but are unable to execute speech movements because of motor planning and coordination problems. This is not to be confused with phonological impairments in children with normal coordination of the articulators during speech.

Symptoms of Acquired Apraxia of Speech (AOS) and Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS) include inconsistent articulatory errors, groping oral movements to locate the correct articulatory position, and increasing errors with increasing word and phrase length. AOS often co-occurs with Oral Apraxia (during both speech and non-speech movements) and Limb Apraxia.

Causes

Ideomotor apraxia is almost always caused by lesions in the language-dominant (usually left) hemisphere of the brain, and as such these patients often have concomitant aphasia, especially of the Broca or conduction type. Left-side ideomotor apraxia may be caused by a lesion of the anterior corpus callosum.

Ideational apraxia is commonly associated with confusion states and dementia.

Treatment

Generally, treatment for individuals with apraxia includes physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy, or Oral Motor Therapy and IVIG. If apraxia is a symptom of another disorder (usually a neurologic disorder), the underlying disorder should be treated.

Prognosis

The prognosis for individuals with apraxia varies. With therapy, some patients improve significantly, while others may show very little improvement. Some individuals with apraxia may benefit from the use of a communication aid.

Related Chapters

• Dyspraxia

References

• Epstein, O. (2003). Clinical Examination. London: Mosby. p. 294. ISBN 0-7234-3229-5.
• Kasper DL, Braunwald E, Fauci AS, Hauser SL, Longo DL, Jameson JL. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. ISBN 0-07-139140-1.