In non-depressed patients who have recently suffered a stroke, prophylactic treatment with Zoloft (also called sertraline) does not prevent the onset of depression in the following 6 months, according to results of a study.

Depression after stroke is common, affecting approximately 1 in every 3 survivors, note Dr. Osvaldo P. Almeida and colleagues from the University of Western Australia, Perth.

They examined whether Zoloft started within 2 weeks of a stroke and continued for 24 weeks reduced the incidence of depression in 111 non-depressed stroke patients. Fifty-five stroke patients took Zoloft (50 mg once daily) and 56 took a placebo.

The patients had a mean age of 67.5 years. Of the 111 subjects, seven suffered Hemorrhagic stroke caused by bleeding in the brain and 104 suffered ischemic stroke caused by a blockage.

“By the end of the 24-week trial, the proportion of participants who were depressed was 21.6 percent (11/51) among patients assigned placebo and 16.7 percent (8/48) among those assigned sertraline,” Dr. Almeida’s team reports.

Overall, 29 patients (51.8 percent) in the placebo group and 26 (47.3 percent) in the sertraline group discontinued trial medication by week 24. This was mostly due to perceived side effects or because antidepressant medication was introduced.

“New pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies need to be developed,” conclude the researchers, “to reduce the health and financial burden associated with depression after stroke.”

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry July 2006.