The role of fluoxetine and selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in motor recovery following acute ischaemic stroke

Abstract

Until now, recombinant tissue plasminogen activator thrombolysis within the first hours after a stroke has been recognised as the only validated treatment able to improve the spontaneous - and most of the time incomplete - recovery of neurological functions after stroke. However, we have learnt from research over the last decade, in part based on the considerable improvement in neuroimaging techniques, that spontaneous recovery of neurological functions was associated with a large intracerebral re-organisation of the damaged human brain. The question of whether lesioned-brain plasticity can be modulated by external factors such as pharmacological agents is now addressed, with the aim of improving recovery and reducing the final disability of patients. We review the preclinical and clinical arguments for a direct action of selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors in promoting recovery after stroke in humans. © TOUCH BRIEFINGS 2011.