Do commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications increase the risk of inflammatory stroke?

MINNEAPOLIS – There is good news for people who take antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most common antidepressants prescribed in the United States. A new preliminary study has found that they are not associated with an increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage, the most lethal type of stroke. The preview published today, February 25, 2021, will be presented at the 73rd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology to be held April 17 to April 22, 2021.

Intracerebral hemorrhage is when a blood vessel in the brain wakes up to inject blood into the surrounding material. The most common causes are high blood pressure and head trauma, but some studies have suggested that SSRIs may increase a person’s risk for this type of inflammatory stroke.

“Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors work by blocking the reuptake of the chemical serotonin, which regulates mood, into the cells, making more of it available in the brain, said study author Mithilesh Siddu, MD, of the University of Miami in Florida and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. “However, by interfering with serotonin, which also plays a role in bleeding, SSRIs may increase the risk of bleeding. So, to find out if the These antidepressants increase the risk of stroke, we looked at a large population of people with stroke. “

For the study, researchers identified 127,915 people who had a stroke between 2010 and 2019. A total of 17,009 people were prescribed antipsychotic medication before they had a stroke and the remaining 110,906 were not on SSRI medication. never.

The researchers found that 11% of people prescribed prescription drugs had intracerebral hemorrhage, compared with 14% of those who did not. After switching to other factors that may affect stroke risk, such as age, high blood pressure, and diabetes, researchers found that people taking antidepressants were right as similar to intracerebral hemorrhage in people not taking such medications.

“These findings are important, especially since post-stroke depression is common and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are some of the first drugs being considered for humans,” Siddu said. “More research is needed to confirm our findings and also investigate whether SSRIs prescribed after a stroke could be linked to risk for a second stroke.”

###

The limitation of the study was that some details regarding duration, dosage and type of antidepressants were not available for inclusion in the study.

Learn more about stroke at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology’s free patient and caregiver journal focusing on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life® on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When you post to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the hashtag of the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, #AANAM.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with more than 36,000 members. The AAN is specifically designed to promote the highest quality, patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with special training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

Contact additional media:

Renee Tessman,
[email protected],
(612) 928-6137

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! they are not responsible for the accuracy of press releases posted to EurekAlert! by sending institutions or for using any information through the EurekAlert system.

.Source