The patient, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer, developed “an uncontrollable Irish accent” despite never having visited Ireland or having any Irish relatives.
According to researchers from Duke University and the University of Carolina Urological Research Center in the United States, the man’s disorder was “consistent with foreign accentuation syndrome (SAE).”
The doctors who presented the case, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), explain that the disorder, which is rare, lasts for about 20 months until the patient’s death.
The authors noted, “To our knowledge, this is the first case of SAE described in a patient with prostate cancer and the third described in a patient with (metastases).”
what is sae
There are very few studies on this disorder, but as the authors point out, SAE is usually higher in patients who have had stroke, brain injuries, or psychiatric disorders.
Research conducted in 2008 at the University of Antwerp in Belgium described SAE as “a motor speech disorder that results in utterances perceived as clearly foreign.”
The researchers noted that the disorder was “well documented” in adults with brain lesions that affect The motor network of the brain that controls language.
But he also pointed out that there are reports of patients in whom the SAE was due to a psychiatric disorder.
However, other studies indicate that SAE can result from a stroke or develop from a stroke. trauma brain brainMigraines or developmental problems.
According to research, the disorder appears to be caused by Damage to areas of the brain that specialize in language.
These losses lead to “distortions of articulation and coordination processes”, which result, to the untrained ear, in the perception that people with SAE are speaking another language or with a foreign accent.
Researchers have studied SAE stress, however, despite popular stories about patients with brain or vascular damage who acquire a foreign language or an accent following their injury, “there are no verified cases in which a foreign language is spoken.” Ability is improved. Brain injury.
“Uncontrollable Accent”,
In the case of the American patient, his name and nationality were not released, but the man was reported to have lived in England when he was in his 20s and had friends and family away from Ireland.
However, the authors emphasize in the BMJ, they had never spoken with this foreign accent before.
“Her accentuation was uncontrollable, present in all settings, and gradually became more frequent,” say the researchers.
It appears to be one of the extremely rare cases that develop As a result of cancerous tumors.
“He had no neurologic exam abnormalities, no psychiatric history, or brain MRI abnormalities at the time of symptom onset,” the researchers explain.
And they suspect that the cause of SAE in this person was a disorder called paraneoplastic neurological syndrome.
The disorder can arise in some cancer patients whose immune system attacks parts of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, or muscles.
The patient was treated with chemotherapy but his disease, a neuroendocrine cancer of the prostate, progressed.
resulting in brain metastasis and A progressive paralysis which led to his death.
Researchers say this patient’s case Emphasizes the need for more research About foreign accent syndrome.
The report concludes, “This unusual presentation highlights the importance of additional literature on SAE and paraneoplastic neurological syndromes associated with prostate cancer to improve understanding of the relationship between these rare syndromes and their clinical trajectory.” “
other matters
The BBC has documented other cases of people presenting with SAE.
In 2006, British Linda Walker suffered a stroke and found that her northern English accent had been replaced by a “Jamaican-sounding voice”.
Another case was that of Julie Mathias, 49, an English woman who was shunned for speaking with a distinct foreign accent, including South Africa, French and Italian.
Julie developed SAE in 2011 after suffering a severe migraine and other stroke-like symptoms, including right-sided weakness.
One of the first cases reported was in 1941 when a young Norwegian woman developed a German accent after being hit by shrapnel from a bomb during a World War II air raid.
The woman was rejected by the locals, who thought she was a Nazi spy.
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