Antidepressants May Aid Stroke Rehabilitation

[HuckleB]

Study: Stroke Patients Taking Prozac Recovered More Physical Function Than Those on Placebo
http://www.webmd.com/stroke/news/20110107/antidepressants-may-aid-stroke-rehabilitation

"New research suggests that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants may help people move again after a stroke.

“I think the study is quite exciting,” says Robert Robinson, MD, a neuropsychiatrist who is the Paul Penningroth chair of psychiatry at the University of Iowa. “It is the largest trial to date that has demonstrated that the use of an antidepressant medication can augment the physical recovery from stroke.”

The study is part of a small but growing cache of evidence that suggests that SSRI antidepressant medications such as Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Prozac, and Zoloft may help stroke patients not simply by relieving mood symptoms, which can hinder recovery in their own right by causing people to feel hopeless and tired, but also by helping neurons grow and re-establish connections in the brain that are vital for physical functioning.

If further research continues to confirm the finding, experts say SSRI antidepressants would be only the second kind of drug therapy found to offer any benefit to stroke patients.

..."

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We'll see if this goes anywhere from here in future research, but it looks like this should be explored.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[HuckleB]

2. Thank you. -eom-

[HereSince1628]

3. As antidepressants SSRIs don't work for everyone, I hope as a stroke

therapy they have broader applicability.

The trial (usually 6-8 weeks) and error method of sorting them out doesn't see like it would be a good thing for a stroke victim who needs neuronal repair and reconnection.