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A Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Technique for Inducing Post-stroke Depression in Rats
Published on: May 22, 2019
Neuropsychiatric consequences of stroke
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City 52242-1057, USA. robert-robinson@uiowa.edu
Insights
Post-stroke depression is common and impacts recovery. Identifying and treating depression and other emotional disorders after a stroke is crucial for patient outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Psychiatry
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Cerebrovascular lesions frequently lead to emotional and behavioral disorders.
- Post-stroke depression is the most prevalent, affecting up to 40% of patients.
- These disorders significantly impact functional recovery, cognition, and survival.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the clinical correlates and impact of post-stroke depression.
- To discuss other emotional and behavioral disorders following cerebrovascular lesions.
- To highlight the need for further research into the treatment of these conditions.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies on emotional and behavioral disorders post-stroke.
- Analysis of clinical correlates, including injury location and impairment severity.
- Evaluation of treatment efficacy for various post-stroke emotional conditions.
Main Results:
- Post-stroke depression is linked to physical and cognitive deficits and brain injury location.
- Antidepressant medication is effective for depression but requires monitoring.
- Pathological crying responds to antidepressants, but other disorders require controlled trials.
Conclusions:
- Early identification and management of post-stroke depression are vital for improving patient recovery.
- Further controlled treatment trials are necessary for mania, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and apathy.
- Addressing emotional and behavioral sequelae is essential for comprehensive stroke care.
Abstract:
Numerous emotional and behavioral disorders occur following cerebrovascular lesions. Depression is the most common of these, affecting up to 40% of patients. Clinical correlates of post-stroke depression include severity of physical and cognitive impairment as well as location of brain injury. Perhaps the most compelling reason to identify post-stroke depression, however, is its substantial impact on recovery in activities of daily living, cognitive function, and survival. Antidepressant medication has been shown to effectively treat depression, although its administration may require careful clinical monitoring. Other post-stroke emotional/behavioral disorders include mania, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, apathy, and pathological crying. Controlled studies have not documented the effect of these disorders on long-term recovery, but the potential impact of syndromes such as mania and apathy on rehabilitation efforts or pathological crying on social functioning are evident. With the exception of pathological crying, which has been shown to respond to antidepressant drug therapy, the other post-stroke emotional/behavioral disorders need to be evaluated in controlled treatment trials for response to therapy.
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