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Posted on Sep 30, 2002, 6 a.m.
By Bill Freeman
A single dose of the antidepressant drug Prozac (fluoxetine) may help to boost the motor skills of stroke patients, suggest results of a small French study. Researchers from the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) found that patients given a dose of the drug two-weeks after their stroke scored significantly better in motor skill tests five hours later.
A single dose of the antidepressant drug Prozac (fluoxetine) may help to boost the motor skills of stroke patients, suggest results of a small French study. Researchers from the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (National Institute of Health and Medical Research) found that patients given a dose of the drug two-weeks after their stroke scored significantly better in motor skill tests five hours later. However, it is not yet clear whether the patients improved performance will last. The team behind the research believe that Prozac may boost stroke patients' motor skills by improving their attention to the tasks that they are doing. They are now planning to test what happens when patients are given Prozac regularly for several weeks. Other research has shown that Prozac is able to improve motor skills in animals after a stroke.
SOURCE/REFERENCE: Annals of Neurology 2001; 50:718-729
