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Neurology (Expert Forum)
speech disorders
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
speech disorders
by glickson, May 01, 2004 12:00AM
My husbond have been in intensive care after an operation (diffuse peritonitis with perforation of the ileus) unfortunately he developed a serious illness with sepsis ond multiorgan failure, including respiratory distress, DIC syndrom, liver affection, ATIN and cardial insufficiency. He was in the intensive care unit for 3˝ month. He has a very severe critical illness neuropathy With severe atrophy and severe paresis. He is now at the department of neurology since Jan 5 04. he is not able to speak but can make unarticulated sounds. an examination has disclosed no injuries, and the plicae vocalis seem to funktion normal but very slow. Now my question: can the critical illness polyneuropathy cause speech disorders? the neurolog at the hospital think so but have never seen it before? can you help us ?
thank you
thank you
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-CS, May 04, 2004 12:00AM
It would be unusual for critical illness polyneuropathy to involve the vocal cords. Other possibilities could include injury to the vocal cords secondary to prolonged intubation, or an underlying muscle disorder causing muscle weakness. Based on your statement the vocal cords move, but slowly. Does he have any difficulty with breathing. If he does not breath properly he may also not be able to articulate properly. I hope this helps, good luck.
Member Comments (2)
by lannyruce, May 03, 2004 12:00AM
I am a speech therapist, and am only offering a guess at what could be the origin of your husband's speech (actually really what we call a language) problem. With all that he has been through, it is likely that at some point there has been a lack of oxygen to his brain causing anoxia, which results in all kinds of cognitive and language problems. OR, he may have suffered a stroke as a result of a number of the illnesses and procedures you mentioned. A stroke, by definition, affects the brain. If it affects the language center, he would have aphasia, a condition that results in varying degrees and types of language difficulties. I hope I didn't alarm you, because of course I cannot make a diagnosis by email, but these are some of my thoughts. Good luck to you both.