There is an exciting new use for a related antidepressant. Doctors at the University of Iowa have found that giving the antidepressant Lexapro (escitalopram) within the first few months after a stroke may help speed recovery.
In the study, stroke patients who took Lexapro within three months of the event recovered more cognitive skills for memory and learning than those who took placebo pills. A third group followed Problem Solving Therapy designed for treating depression. After three months, tests of verbal and visual memory showed that the patients on Lexapro were doing better. They were also functioning better in their activities of daily life.
[Archives of General Psychiatry, Feb., 2010]
