Stroke victims may benefit from antidepressants.
Stroke victims may benefit from antidepressants.
A new university of Iowa study says doctors should give stroke victims antidepressants right away instead of waiting to see if they become depressed.
Depression is a common stroke complication. Doctors looked at nearly two hundred stroke patients.
A third underwent talk therapy, a third took the anti-depressant Lexapro, and the rest took a dummy pill.
Researchers found the patients on the drug were four-and-a-half times less likely to develop depression compared to the dummy pill group.
The talk therapy group also saw a benefit compared to the dummy pill group, but not as much.
The findings may lead to an expanded use for antidepressants. The lead author suggests someday treating all high-risk people like stroke patients with the drugs to prevent depression — just like people who take anti-cholesterol drugs to prevent a heart attack.
The complete study appears in Wednesday
Loading ...
Recent Comments