The efficacy of antidepressants in post-stroke depression

The aim of the present study was to confirm the efficacy of antidepressants in post-stroke depression and to identify the factors related to outcome. Subjects consisted of 20 inpatients suffering from post-stroke in a rehabilitation hospital. The subjects were treated with various antidepressants, mainly imipramine, amitriptyline, and amoxapine. After 4 weeks of treatment, 13 showed some improvement; significant improvement in 5, moderate improvement in 5, mild improvement in 3 by a clinical global impression. Whereas all the patients aged less than 65 yr were responders, only 3 of the 10 patients over 65 yr were responders. All of the male patients, but only half of the female patients, were responders. With regards to the presence of a spouse, 13 of the 16 patients with a spouse, but none of 4 patients without, showed a response. No significant correlation was found between the occurrence of each depressive symptom and outcome. Thus, the responders were younger and had better social support in comparison with the non-responders. This result implies that antidepressants are effective for post-stroke depression.