Study finds benefits of Prozac for stroke victims
Source: Agencies |
January 11, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
GIVING the antidepressant drug Prozac to people who have just had a stroke could help them to regain more control over their movements and allow more to live independently, scientists said yesterday.
In the largest study yet of the effect of this type of antidepressant on stroke recovery, French researchers found that stroke patients given Prozac improved their scores in motor skills tests more than those given a placebo, or dummy pill.
Experts commenting on the findings said they had "enormous potential to change clinical practice" and raised the question of whether most stroke patients with motor skill problems should be treated with this relatively cheap type of drug.
The cost of caring for stroke victims, who often have motor function difficulties like paralysis or weakness on one side, puts a heavy burden on stretched healthcare systems.
A few previous small trials had already suggested that giving drugs like Prozac, which belongs to a drug class known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, might improve motor skill recovery after stroke.
Hemiplegia - paralysis to one side of the body - and hemiparesis - weakness on one side of the body - are the most common disabilities after a stroke and scientists believe SSRIs might help movement by raising the level of the chemical serotonin in the central nervous system.
In the study, conducted between March 2005 and June 2009, 118 -patients in France were given either Prozac or a placebo for three months starting between five and 10 days after they had suffered a stroke.
All patients were also given physiotherapy and had their motor skills tested at the start and on day 90.
Greater improvements in motor function were recorded after three months in patients taking Prozac, where the average test score improved by 34 points, than in the placebo group, where it was 24.3 points.
In the largest study yet of the effect of this type of antidepressant on stroke recovery, French researchers found that stroke patients given Prozac improved their scores in motor skills tests more than those given a placebo, or dummy pill.
Experts commenting on the findings said they had "enormous potential to change clinical practice" and raised the question of whether most stroke patients with motor skill problems should be treated with this relatively cheap type of drug.
The cost of caring for stroke victims, who often have motor function difficulties like paralysis or weakness on one side, puts a heavy burden on stretched healthcare systems.
A few previous small trials had already suggested that giving drugs like Prozac, which belongs to a drug class known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors, might improve motor skill recovery after stroke.
Hemiplegia - paralysis to one side of the body - and hemiparesis - weakness on one side of the body - are the most common disabilities after a stroke and scientists believe SSRIs might help movement by raising the level of the chemical serotonin in the central nervous system.
In the study, conducted between March 2005 and June 2009, 118 -patients in France were given either Prozac or a placebo for three months starting between five and 10 days after they had suffered a stroke.
All patients were also given physiotherapy and had their motor skills tested at the start and on day 90.
Greater improvements in motor function were recorded after three months in patients taking Prozac, where the average test score improved by 34 points, than in the placebo group, where it was 24.3 points.
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