Short report
Relation between depression after stroke, antidepressant therapy,
and functional recovery
G Gainottia, G Antonuccib, C Marraa, S Paoluccic
a Neuropsychological
Unit, Institute of Neurology, UCSC, L go A Gemelli 8, Rome I-00168,
Italy, b Department of Psychology, University La
Sapienza. Rome, Italy, c IRCCS
Santa Lucia. Rome, Italy
Correspondence to: Dr G Gainotti iclnp{at}rm.unicatt.it Received 27 April 2000 and in revised form 13 February 2001 Accepted 12 March 2001
The
aim was to evaluate the effects of poststroke depression and
antidepressant therapy on the improvement of motor scores and
disability, to verify if the negative effects of poststroke depression
on functional recovery could be counterbalanced by taking
antidepressant drugs.
RESULTS OBTAINED BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER
REHABILITATION
on the Barthel index, Canadian neurological scale, and
Rivermead mobility index
by 49 depressed patients with stroke, who had
been treated (n=25) or not treated (n=24) according to the different
therapeutic approaches of their physicians, were compared with results
similarly obtained by 15 non-depressed patients with stroke. Analysis
was by multivariate analysis of variance for repeated measures
There was a non-significant difference between the groups in their
motor and functional scores, and a significant improvement on time. A
significant interaction between group and time was seen. This
interaction was particularly significant on the Rivermead mobility
index, and was due to the fact that the recovery of non-treated depressed patients with stroke was less than the non-depressed and the
depressed but treated patients with stroke. Furthermore, recovery from
depression was significantly greater in treated than in non-treated
depressed patients with stroke.
In conclusion, poststroke
depression has negative effects on functional recovery, and a
pharmacological treatment of depression can counterbalance this effect.
Keywords: poststroke depression; antidepressant drugs; functional recovery
© 2001 by Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry
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