From the
Associated Press:
Doctors may want to give stroke victims
antidepressants right away instead of waiting until they develop depression, a common complication, new research suggests.
The findings may lead to an expanded use for antidepressants. Someday high-risk people like stroke patients might take the drugs before suffering depression — just as people now take cholesterol drugs to prevent heart attacks, the lead author said.
The researchers gave low doses of the antidepressant
Lexapro to stroke patients. The patients on the drug were 4.5 times less likely to develop depression than patients taking a dummy pill.
More than 700,000 Americans suffer strokes each year and more than one-third will develop depression in the next two years. Stroke patients with depression recover more slowly and are more likely to die, according to previous research.
Experts say strokes may damage parts of the brain affecting mood. Add to that the stress of relearning simple tasks and adjusting to stroke-caused impairments and you've got a recipe for depression.
Lexapro may work by making the chemical serotonin more available in the brain and by promoting brain repair, said Dr. George Bartzokis of the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in the new study.
"Treating the depression may actually help treat the stroke and vice versa," Bartzokis said.