Stroke remains the second-leading cause of death and the third-leading cause of death and disability combined. Aphasia or the loss of language function, can be caused by brain damage due to stroke in 21-38 percent of acute stroke patients, as per neurology experts at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences. Early and timely speech and language rehabilitation can aid in a better recovery, they said.
Music therapy has been shown to improve verbal fluency in various parts of the world. However, in India, there is a lack of similar adaptive strategies, as per experts. The Department of Neurology, AIIMS, New Delhi, in collaboration with IIT-New Delhi, is conducting a study on the customization and adaptation of the treatment strategies that such patients need for the recovery of their global speech and language functions.
This will be provided free of charge to the patients under the ICMR-funded study.
Meanwhile, stroke, a highly preventable and treatable condition, could lead to nearly 10 million deaths annually by 2050, primarily affecting low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This projection comes from the collaborative effort of the World Stroke Organization and the Lancet Neurology Commission under which four studies have been published. Four research papers emphasizing pragmatic recommendations to reduce stroke burden globally have been published under this Commission.
This report was published in the esteemed Lancet Neurology journal. The report underscores that stroke deaths are expected to surge from 6.6 million in 2020 to a daunting 9.7 million by 2050. By 2050, it is estimated that the contribution of stroke deaths in LMICs will see an increase from 86 per cent to 91 per cent.
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