Boon or bane? Using antidepressants after stroke

Depression affects 1 in every 3 adults within the first six months after a stroke [1]. In addition to being common, it increases the burden of illness and hinders recovery from stroke [2], so that adequate measures to treat and prevent depression in this population are needed. The results of the fluoxetine in motor recovery of patients with acute ischaemic stroke (FLAME) trial (n = 118) showed that stroke survivors treated with fluoxetine had better motor function than their counterparts treated with placebo for 3 months [3].