Prozac shows promise in recovery from stroke, new research says

London: Giving the antidepressant drug Prozac to people who have just had a stroke could help them regain more control over their movements and allow more of them to live independently, scientists said on Monday.

In the largest study yet of the effect of this type of antidepressant on stroke recovery, French researchers found stroke patients given Prozac improved their scores in motor skills tests more than those given a placebo.

Experts commenting on the findings said they had "enormous potential to change clinical practice" and raised the question of whether most stroke patients with motor skill problems should be treated with this relatively cheap type of antidepressant. Stroke is the single largest cause of adult disability and the third-largest cause of death in the developed world. The cost of caring for its victims, who often have motor function difficulties like paralysis or weakness on one side, puts a heavy burden on already stretched healthcare systems.

A few previous small trials had already suggested that giving drugs like Prozac, which belongs to a drug class known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), might improve motor skill recovery after stroke.

Prozac was developed by Eli Lilly and is now available in a cheaper generic form as fluoxetine.

Hemiplegia — paralysis to one side of the body — and hemiparesis — weakness on one side of the body — are the most common disabilities after stroke and scientists believe SSRIs might help improve movement by increasing the level of the brain chemical serotonin in the central nervous system.

"The positive effect of the drug on motor function suggests...a new pathway that should be explored further," said Francois Chollet of Toulouse University Hospital, who led this research..

In the study, conducted between March 2005 and June 2009 and published in The Lancet Neurology journal yesterday, 118 patients in France were given either Prozac or a placebo for three months starting between five and 10 days after they had suffered a stroke.