# Communication Bridge: A person-centered Internet-based intervention for individuals with primary progressive aphasia

> **NIH NIH R01** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $986,375

## Abstract

Language impairment (aphasia) is the defining feature of the clinical dementia syndrome primary progressive aphasia
(PPA) and significantly compromises the diagnosed individual’s independence and activities of daily living. There are
currently no treatments to reverse the degenerative process responsible for PPA, which is caused by Alzheimer’s disease
or a form of frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Nonpharmacological interventions including speech-language treatment
may offer significant benefit to the diagnosed individual’s quality of life, but there are few efficacy studies and no
guidelines to direct best clinical care practices. There are also several barriers to accessing care. Individuals with PPA are
under-referred for nonpharmacological services, making it challenging for families to find care unless the individual with
PPA lives near an informed specialist. Evidence-based research outcomes from speech-language therapy studies are
promising but have been limited to case reports or small groups of local patients and often lack a control group. This
project will circumvent both geographic limitations and poor access to care by using a previously validated telepractice
model to deliver speech-language treatments to adults with PPA. The proposed study will use a randomized controlled
trial design (RCT) to evaluate whether a person-centered treatment (Experimental) for adults with mild PPA
maximizes functional communication participation as compared to a dose-matched impairment-only treatment
(Control). Ninety individuals with a diagnosis of PPA and their actively-engaged care partners will be enrolled into the
study. Both the Experimental and Control arms of the study will receive treatment and evaluations over the course of 12
months. The trial will be supported by a custom web-application, which has an aphasia-friendly design and provides a
place for participants to connect to evaluation and treatment sessions. Participants will also use the web-application to
receive weekly To-Do lists of home exercises, which are provided to reinforce evidence-based strategies learned during
treatment sessions and to facilitate implementation into the context of daily life. Aim 1 will determine the within-group
response of the Experimental and Control treatments for individuals with PPA. Aim 2 will determine between group
differences in treatment outcomes. In the absence of a cure for dementia, it is important to identify and evaluate strategies
that help individuals maximize their quality of life, and this study will help fulfill this need.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9890992
- **Project number:** 5R01AG055425-04
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** EMILY J ROGALSKI
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $986,375
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-09-15 → 2022-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9890992

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9890992, Communication Bridge: A person-centered Internet-based intervention for individuals with primary progressive aphasia (5R01AG055425-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9890992. Licensed CC0.

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