Clinical Effect of Paroxetine Combined with Psychotherapy on Post-stroke Depression

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of paroxetine combined with psychotherapy on post-stroke depression(PSD). Methods Totally 106 patients suffered from post-stroke depression were randomly divided into two groups: control group(psychotherapy alone) and therapeutic group(paroxetine combined with psychotherapy).Hamilton depression rating scales,MESSS and TESS were used to evaluate all the patients after admission.The serum cortisol level was detected by radioimmunity method. Results After 8 weeks of treatment,the total effective rates of post-stroke depression and nerves functional restoration of therapeutic group were 71.7% and 90.6%,respectively,which were significantly higher than those(43.4% and 66%) of control group(P0.05).There were statistically significant differences between two groups in the total scores of HAMD and MESSS(P0.05),though there was a significant decreasing in each group(P0.05).No statistically significant difference was found between two groups in the total scores of TESS(P0.05).The serum level of cortisol in therapeutic group was decreased significantly than that of control group(P0.05). Conclusions After the treatment of paroxetine combined with psychotherapy,depression level of the patients showed significantly decreased and the quality of life was improved significantly.The decrease of serum level of cortisol may be one of the mechanisms of paroxetine on PSD.