Can hand gestures boost word retrieval in aphasia? new study investigates
NCT ID NCT07455162
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether adding hand gestures to standard speech therapy helps Cantonese speakers with aphasia find words more easily. 90 participants will first receive verbal-only therapy, then after a break, switch to therapy that combines gestures with speech. Researchers will measure improvements in naming and overall language skills.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Behavioral interventions: verbal therapy (semantic/phonological cueing) and gesture-plus-verbal therapy
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that adding gestures to speech therapy helps people with aphasia find words more easily.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 90 participants, all Cantonese speakers. Results may not apply to other languages or types of aphasia.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 90 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosed with aphasia * Demonstrate Word finding Difficulty (WFD) * Able to repeat single words * Normal (or corrected) vision and hearing * Aphasia resulting from a unilateral left hemisphere stroke * Premorbidly fluent in spoken Cantonese * Without significant cognitive impairments * Chronic aphasia resulting from a unilateral left hemisphere stroke Exclusion Criteria: * A history of other neurological disorders * With the above moderate to severe or severe motor speech impairment * With moderate to severe apraxia of speech * With very mild or very severe aphasia
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The University of Hong Kong
RECRUITINGHong Kong, Hong Kong
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