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OWA CITY, IOWA | Stroke patients who undergo early treatment with antidepressants experience improvements in their executive function within two years, according to a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial published in the March issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

Impaired executive function-or the inability to perform complex mental tasks such as planning an alternate route home due to unexpected detours-affects the majority of stroke survivors.

"But remedies for this condition are limited," said Dr. Sergio Paradiso, lead study author and a psychiatrist at the University of Iowa, in an interview with the Medical Post.

Research has already established that antidepressants improve mortality and morbidity outcomes following stroke, independently of depression, although their use in these patients is limited and they are typically given only for specific mood disorders, Dr. Paradiso said.....

The original article can be found at: http://www.medicalpost.com/medicine/clinical/article.jsp?content=20070401_170500_4432

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what we said (Hover the mouse cursor over underlined words for more info)

This article makes the claim that "stroke patients who undergo early treatment with antidepressants experience improvements in their executive function within two years by fostering a slow and gradual recovery of neural tissues not directly destroyed by the stroke."

This article states very clearly the novelty of this drug treatment and that although "findings of the study are not conclusive" that "the results certainly do provide enough suggestive evidence to endorse prescribing." It also states that the cost of this drug is fairly cheap as antidepressant medications, such as fluoxetine, are relatively inexpensive.

However, this article does not explain the harms the usage of this drug could incur, but since it is still in the trial phase, we hope this will become illuminated for us. Another important and lacking piece of information is an indication of other possible treatment options to stroke patients seeking to regain their executive function. Non- medication options would be interesting to learn about, and an even cheaper solution!

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