Prophylactic Treatment of Depression After Stroke

One year after a stroke more than one third of survivors suffer from depression. Should we try to avoid this by treating people even before they become depressed? The answer from a recent small but important study in which people were treated with antidepressants after a stroke seems to be a strong and enthusiastic YES! Of course, this is is just one study, and thus it needs to be repeated by others before its conclusions can be implemented into clinical practice.

In that study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, stroke patients were given either a placebo medication or a low dose of the anti-depressant escitalopram (also known as Lexapro). At the end of the study (12 months later) people treated with this medication were much less likely to become depressed by comparison with people treated with placebo: Only 8.5% of those treated with escitalopram developed depression by comparison to 22.4% of those treated with placebo.

Why is this important? Aside from the obvious benefits of not having to feel miserable every day, research shows that adequate treatment of depression is likely to influence both stroke recovery and mortality in a positive way, as both of these factors are adversely affected by the onset of depression after a stroke.

Recommended reading:
Aphasia treatment in stroke
Area you at risk of stroke?
Six tips to stay stroke-free