SSRI use tied to improved depression after stroke, but also higher risk of repeat brain bleed

Reuters Health - 03/09/2020 - Taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) is associated with an improvement in depressive symptoms after intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), but also with an increased risk of ICH recurrence, according to new findings. Depression is common after stroke, with SSRIs "generally considered first-line treatment agents," Dr. Alessandro Biffi of Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, and colleagues note in JAMA Neurology. However, they add, likely due to their anticlotting effects, SSRIs have been linked to an increased risk of first-time ICH. "We need more information on the use of medications like SSRIs for patients that have had intracranial hemorrhage, because at least on the basis of our study, there is some evidence that it increases the risk of a recurrent brain hemorrhage, even though it does positively affect the severity of depressive symptoms," Dr. Biffi told Reuters Health by phone. His team looked at 1,279 patie...

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Posted on 3 September, 20208 September, 2020