Terry Jones: Monty Python star suffers rare dementia which stops sufferers SPEAKING
SYMPTOMS of dementia usually include confusion and memory loss. But the disease comes in many forms and can affect different areas of the brain. Terry Jones, Monty Python star suffers with a rare form of the disease which affects communication.
PPA results from the deterioration of brain tissue
More than 800,000 people suffer with the condition in the UK - a figure which is expected to rise.
But there are different types of dementia - some caused by Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia which can be caused by a stroke or dementia with Lewy bodies.
Terry Jones, the Monty Python star, has been diagnosed with dementia.
But it was been revealed the 74-year-old is suffering from a form condition called primary progressive aphasia, also known as PPA, which affects his ability to communicate.
It has been revealed the television star, billed by some a ‘national treasure’ struggles to speak at length, but his friend Michael Palin has revealed Terry jones still enjoys long walks and a good joke.
Aphasia is a condition that affects the brain and leads to problems using language correctly.
Terry Jones has been diagnosed with the condition
People with aphasia make mistakes in the words they use, sometimes using the wrong sounds in a word, choosing the wrong word, or putting words together incorrectly.
The National Aphasia Association said: “Aphasia can be so severe as to make communication with the patient almost impossible, or it can be very mild.
“It may affect mainly a single aspect of language use, such as the ability to retrieve the names of objects, or the ability to put words together into sentences, or the ability to read.”
However, PPA is a condition which is caused by neurodegenerative disease - a umbrella term for the progressive loss of structure or function of neurons.
The NAA said: “PPA is caused by neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's Disease or Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration.”
Chances of recovery for people with aphasia are poor
The NAA said: “PPA results from deterioration of brain tissue important for speech and language.
“Although the first symptoms are problems with speech and language, other problems associated with the underlying disease, such as memory loss, often occur later.”
Many people with the condition find it difficult to understand words and sentences they hear or read.
As the condition progresses, some people can’t speak at all and others just have few words.
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More than 800,000 people in the UK have dementia
While people with other types of aphasia can experience improvement over time, often aided by speech therapy, this is not the case for patients with the primary form of the condition.
Some individuals with PPA, however, can sometimes benefit by acquiring new communication strategies from speech-language therapists.
NHS Choices said the chances of recovery for people with aphasia related to progressive neurological conditions is ‘poor’.
This, experts say, is because there is no way of repairing or preventing the ongoing injury to the brain.
Research from the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Centre of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine said: “Because PPA is progressive, decline in language ability continues. Additionally, some language abilities - memory, attention, judgment or changes in behaviour and personality- can be affected.”
Symptoms of the condition include slowed or halting speech, decreased use of language, word finding hesitations, difficulty understanding or following conversation despite normal hearing, a sudden lapse in understanding simple words and forgetting the names of familiar objects.
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