Depression drugs may aid stroke recovery

TOULOUSE, France, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- Depression drugs could help stroke victims re-establish motor skills in months as well as alleviate patients' depression, French researchers say.

In a four-year study in France it was discovered that prescribing the antidepressant fluoxetine soon after an ischemic stroke, mostly caused by a narrowing of the arteries in the neck or head, could improve motor function and increase the number of independent patients, Medical News Today reported Monday.

Prozac and Sarafem, common fluoxetine drugs, are the most commonly prescribed selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors.

Serotonin is a hormone that both acts as a chemical messenger that transmits nerve signals between nerve cells and causes blood vessels to narrow.

Some trials previously had suggested such inhibitors might aid motor recovery after stroke by increasing the level of the neurotransmitter serotonin in the central nervous system.

In the French study, significant improvements in motor function were recorded after just three months in patients taking fluoxetine.

Fluoxetine not only helped in the recovery of motor function but also served its original purpose of diminishing depression after stroke, leading to more rapid recovery and freedom to return to a normal lifestyle, the study found.