New brain scan study aims to unravel mysteries of speech disorder

NCT ID NCT01818661

Knowledge-focused Sponsor: Mayo Clinic Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 2 times

Summary

This study uses advanced brain scans, including a special PET tracer called AV-1451, to track changes in the brains of 50 people with progressive apraxia of speech (a disorder that affects the ability to coordinate speech movements). Researchers at Mayo Clinic will compare these brain images with changes in speech, language, and thinking over time. The goal is to better understand how the disease progresses, which could improve diagnosis and monitoring in the future.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: AV-1451 (a radioactive tracer used in PET scans to detect tau protein in the brain)
What this could lead to: If successful, this study could help doctors better understand how progressive apraxia of speech affects the brain, potentially leading to earlier diagnosis or better monitoring of the disease.
What could go wrong: This is an observational imaging study, not a treatment trial. It is small (50 participants) and focused on understanding the disease, so it will not directly lead to a new therapy or cure.

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

Phase 4

Runs after approval, following long-term safety and how well the treatment works in everyday use.

Participants

About 50 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2018

Expected to finish

Jun 2028

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * We will study subjects that fulfill clinical inclusion criteria for neurodegenerative AOS that have been seen and diagnosed at Mayo Clinic Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects with concurrent illnesses that could account for speech and language deficits, such as traumatic brain injury, strokes or developmental syndromes will be excluded. * Women that are pregnant or post-partum and breast-feeding will be excluded. All women who can become pregnant must have a pregnancy test no more than 48 hours before the PET scan. * Subjects will also be excluded if MRI is contraindicated (metal in head, cardiac pace maker, e.t.c.), if there is severe claustrophobia, if there are conditions that may confound brain imaging studies (e.g. structural abnormalities, including subdural hematoma or intracranial neoplasm), or if they are medically unstable or are on medications that might affect brain structure or metabolism,(e.g. chemotherapy). * Subjects will also be excluded if they do not have an informant, or do not consent to research.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

aphasia Aphasia, Broca apraxia childhood apraxia of speech primary progressive aphasia progressive non-fluent aphasia

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Apraxia of speech Non-fluent aphasia PPA Primary progressive aphasia Primary progressive non-fluent aphasia

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

The places running it

1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
The official record

ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

Open the record ↗
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.

New brain scan study aims to unravel mysteries of speech disorder

What the study statuses mean