Despite not having any Irish background of any sort, a prostate cancer patient in the US developed foreign accent syndrome, which enabled him to speak Hiberno English. Researchers think that this may be a case that aligns with paraneoplastic neurological disorder (PND).
Mysterious Foreign Accent Syndrome
Foreign accent syndrome, or FAS, is an uncommon speech condition that makes its patients speak with a varying accent. Sky News also reports that the condition could represent a neurological condition that is functional, which means that it impacts how the body functions.
According to WebMD, one's native language remains intact even after acquiring FAS. The only difference is the accent used. Switches reportedly include American to British English, Japanese to Korean, or even Spanish to Hungarian. It also leads to small pronunciation errors and difficulties with pronouncing words that have many syllables.
The condition usually surfaces if Broca's area gets hurt. This specific brain region regulates speech rhythm and melody. FAS also impacts tongue placement as one speaks. This, in turn, affects the accent.
Tragic Prostate Cancer Case
The case of the man in his 50s was reported in the British Medical Journal. He was a recipient of abiraterone acetate or prednisone and androgen deprivation therapy. Sky News reports that these treatments are approved ones for those who deal with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer.
According to the report, the man did not have any neurological evaluation abnormalities post-imaging. However, his prostate cancer was observed to evidently progress further.
The researchers discovered that even if the man went through chemotherapy, his condition still progressed. It led to a brain tumor that is multifocal and a probable "paraneoplastic ascending paralysis." This implies that the man may be dealing with the last stage of his metastatic condition, which further leads to his death.
However, as the man reached his 20th month of treatment, he started exhibiting foreign accent syndrome.
The BBC notes that the authors say that, from what they know, this is the first FAS case found in someone dealing with prostate cancer. Also, it is the third that is spotted in someone with a malignant condition.
The researchers also mentioned that the man's accent was uncontrollable, present across every setting, and persistent over time. As his condition got worse, the accent still stayed, even until he died some months later.
FAS Culprit: Paraneoplastic Neurological Disorders
They further suspected that man's progression of FAS aligned with an underlying PND (paraneoplastic neurological disorder). The BMJ reports that PND refers to a set of distinct disorders that develop among certain patients dealing with cancer. The BBC also reports that PND takes place when the immune system of these patients attacks certain brain areas, as well as their spinal cord, nerves, and muscles.
Science Direct reports that PNDs are among the most dramatic cancer-related autoimmunity conditions. They may affect any area of the nervous system and do this at the same time.
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