Recent Study Suggests Antidepressants Should Be Included for Post-Stroke Care
Report says: Doctors should give more stroke victims antidepressants right away instead of waiting until they develop depression which is considered a common and frequent complication.
As an attorney in Missouri representing clients who have been harmed from prescription drugs, I am always concerned about studies suggesting increased and across-the-board greater usage of the drug companies' "miracle pills." So, please talk with your doctor at length before going on depression meds and about alternative measures you can take to protect yourself.
These findings may lead to overall greater use of antidepressants. Someday, high-risk people like stroke patients might take the drugs before depression kicks in — just as many people now take cholesterol drugs before the symptoms kick in to prevent heart attacks, the lead author of this study said.
Low doses of the antidepressant Lexapro were given to stroke patients. Patients on this drug were 4.5 times less likely to even develop depression than patients taking a dummy pill. Talk about an ounce of prevention being better than a pound of cure!
A high number--more than 700,000--of Americans suffer strokes each year and more than one-third will then develop depression in the next two years. Doctors know that the mental health of their patients is often directly linked to there overall health and recovery from strokes. Stroke patients with depression recover more slowly and are more likely to die doctors believe.
"We showed you could in fact prevent the development of depression after stroke," said a leader in this field, Dr. Robert Robinson, of the University of Iowa, who also led this study. "I hope I don't have a stroke, but if I do, I would certainly want to be placed on an antidepressant."
Experts say strokes may very well damage parts of the brain which affect mood. Add to that the stress already present to stoke victims such as relearning simple tasks and adjusting to stroke-caused impairments and you've got a recipe for depression. The study, appearing in the recent Journal of the American Medical Association, was based on an analysis of 176 stroke patients, ranging in age from 50 to 90.
Dr. George Bartzokis of the University of California, Los Angeles, who was not involved in the new study said Lexapro may work by making the chemical serotonin more available in the brain and by promoting brain repair.
"Treating the depression may actually help treat the stroke and vice versa," Bartzokis said.
Again, this is one study, one point of view. Becareful before you begin talking any drug.
