He body never ceases to amaze us, proof of this is the case of a man who developed an ‘uncontrollable’ Irish accent without having set foot in that country in his life, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Just as you read it!
According to information published by the British Medical Journala 50-year-old American man, diagnosed with prostate cancerdeveloped an unusual change in his way of speaking, once the type of cancer that he suffered did metastasis in his brainwhich ultimately caused his demise.
“A man in his 50s with metastatic prostate cancer hormone sensitive, receiving androgen deprivation therapy and abiraterone/prednisone acetate, presented with an out-of-control “brogue Irish” accent despite having no irish backgroundconsistent with the foreign accent syndrome (SAE). He had no abnormalities neurological exam, psychiatric history or magnetic resonance imaging that will show brain abnormalities at the onset of symptoms,” the doctors explained.
Man develops Irish accent after being diagnosed with prostate cancer/ Photo: iStock
Can metastatic cancer change the accent?
One of the explanations given by specialists is that the foreign accent syndrome (SAE)could have been caused by a ‘paraneoplastic syndrome in the underlying nervous system‘, is a rare disorder that occurs when a cancer that is not cerebral triggers an immune response that affects the nervous system.
What is foreign accent syndrome?
He foreign accent syndrome (SAE), it’s a very rare speech disorder in which a person begins to speak with a foreign accent after suffering a brain injury or some other kind of brain damage. No, it’s not a joke! In reality, the affected person has no control over the change in her accent, so much so that he does not realize that he is speaking differently.
Although the accent change may seem sudden and drastic, it is actually the result of a complex process that involves the loss or alteration of the abilities of production of speech sounds.
Man develops Irish accent after being diagnosed with prostate cancer/ Photo: iStock
Information from the Journal of Neurology suggests that a brain injury can affect the areas responsible for speech, as a result, a person’s speech may be altered. Even though this syndrome is usually very rare, there are therapies for people with SAE to improve their speaking skills and reduce the effects of the disorder.
What injuries can cause foreign accent syndrome?
Las brain injuries that can cause the foreign accent syndrome are those that affect areas of the brain involved in the control of speechbut also with the sound productionfor example, a cerebrovascular accident, head trauma, brain tumor, neurodegenerative diseases or iatrogenic injuries.
Man develops Irish accent after being diagnosed with prostate cancer/ Photo: iStock
In the case of man with metastatic cancerexperts from Duke University of North Carolina and the South Carolina Urological Research Center, reveal that the patient had not suffered any accident or blow during your treatment. However, the brain metastasis managed to affect the motor part of speech.
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