Age, Aphasia, and Stroke Localization

To the Editor.—

The report of Kertesz et al in the October 1977 issue of theArchives(34:590-601, 1977) was of special interest for the inclusion of the mean ages of patients in specific categories of aphasia. Analysis of the authors' data demonstrates the mean age of patients with Broca's aphasia to be nine years younger than the mean ages of patients within any other group of aphasia. Children with aphasia are known to have almost exclusively nonfluent aphasia. Moreover, clinicians dealing with adult aphasia have noted that patients with Broca's aphasia tend to be younger than patients with Wernicke's aphasia. The first systematically obtained evidence regarding this clinical observation was reported at the 1977 meeting of the Academy of Aphasia.¹Albert and colleagues compared the ages and types of aphasia of 167 right-handed patients seen in the Neurobehavioral Unit of the Aphasia Research Center at the Boston