The vermal astrocytoma patients showed semantic fluency deficit, moderate to slight impairment in phonologic fluency, conceptualization and non-verbal Raven IQ.
The medulloblastoma group scaled scores (SS) compared with norms (deficit -1 SD, cut-off 7) presented severe deficit (-1.81 SD) in semantic fluency and moderate to slight deficit in phonologic fluency (-0.66 SD, SS = 8).
These patients also showed the already described deficit in semantic fluency and moderate to slight problems in phonologic fluency, reading, naming, conceptual responses and non-verbal Raven-IQ, but the interference was less compromised (-0.6 SD), suggesting that this severe deficit in verbal working memory capacity would interfere with the correct performance in other language functions.
All dentate-affected (vermal and hemispheric) astrocytoma patients showed semantic fluency deficit and moderate impairment (-1 SD) in perseverative errors, perseverations and errors WCST responses.
To further characterize each patient's language impairment, severity [mild (I), moderate (II) and severe (III)], fluency (fluent versus non-fluent) and type of aphasia (global, Broca, anomic, Wernicke, non-classifiable, residual) as indicated by the Aachen Aphasia Test were evaluated (Fig. 1).
Vermis CE patients showed deficit in semantic fluency (-1.2 SD) and moderate impairment (-0.67 SD) in phonologic fluency.
The Astrocytoma group also showed executive deficits in digits span, semantic fluency (animal category) and moderate to slight deficit in Stroop (word and colour) tests.
The results indicate that there are some remarkable learning achievements regarding reading fluency and also slight to moderate gains in reading comprehension in most of the children, whereas the language skills did not improve much.
Vermis CE patients compared with norms showed executive deficit in verbal working memory (digit span: -1.86 SD, cut-off 7) and semantic fluency (-1.2 SD, cut-off 7), moderate impairment in phonologic fluency (mean SS = 8), and about -0.9 SD below normal mean in the Stroop (word and colour), conceptual-WCST and Raven IQ (-1 SD, g IV).
In that study, donepezil did not improve phonemic fluency in patients with mild-to-moderate dementia [ 42].
Exclusion criteria were current or previous receipt of antipsychotic drugs, moderate to severe learning disability, organic impairment, and insufficient fluency in English.
