Progressive verbal apraxia of reading.

We identified a syndrome characterized by a relatively isolated progressive impairment of reading words that the patient was able to understand and repeat but without other components of speech apraxia. This cluster of symptoms fits a new syndrome designated Progressive Verbal Apraxia of Reading. A right-handed man (AB) came with a 2.5-year history of increasing difficulties in reading aloud. He was evaluated twice, 2 years apart, using multimodal neuroimaging techniques and quantitative neurolinguistic assessment. In the laboratory, reading difficulties arose in the context of intact visual and auditory word recognition as well as intact ability to understand and repeat words he was unable to read aloud. The unique feature was the absence of dysarthria or speech apraxia in tasks other than reading. Initial imaging did not reveal statistically significant atrophy. Structural magnetic resonance and FDG-PET imaging at the second assessment revealed atrophy and hypometabolism in the right posterior cerebellum, in areas shown to be part of his language network by task-based functional neuroimaging at initial assessment. This syndromic cluster can be designated Progressive Verbal Apraxia of Reading, an entity that has not been reported previously to the best of our knowledge. We hypothesize a selective disconnection of the visual word recognition system from the otherwise intact articulatory apparatus, a disconnection that appears to reflect the disruption of multisynaptic cerebello-cortical circuits.

Meta-Analysis Of Antenatal Depression And Adverse Birth Outcomes In US Populations, 2010-20.

Untreated depression presents a distinct set of risks for pregnancy complications. Past studies have connected antenatal depression with adverse birth outcomes. The purpose of this study was to conduct an updated systematic review and meta-analysis examining the relationship between depression during pregnancy and associated adverse birth outcomes in US populations during the period 2010-20. As a trend, disparities in adverse pregnancy outcomes and maternal morbidities for Black pregnant people compared with those for White pregnant people continue to rise. Addressing mental health conditions during pregnancy has the potential to ameliorate a large and excessive burden on adverse birth outcomes among childbearing people and their offspring. Policy solutions to encourage, mandate, and reimburse universal depression screening during pregnancy are warranted.