Effect of Venlafaxine plus strengthening psychotherapy on neurologic defect of patients with post-stroke depression

Objective To evaluate the effect of Venlafaxine plus psychotherapy on neurologic defect of patients with post-stroke depression (PSD). Methods One hundred and twenty-six patients with PSD were equally randomized into control group (treating with ordinary medicine and rehabilitation), Venlafaxine treatment group (ordinary treatment combined with venlafaxine) and therapeutic alliance group (ordinary treatment combined with venlafaxine and psychotherapy). The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), Barthel index (BI) and NIHSS were employed to evaluate the treatment efficacy before the treatment, 4 and 6 week and 90 d after the treatment. Results No significant differences in NIHSS scores and Brothel indexes among the 3 groups were noted before the treatment (P>0.05). Four and 6 week and 90 d after the treatment, the HAMD scores, NIHSS scores and Barthel indexes in the therapeutic alliance group improved significantly as compared with those in control group and Venlafaxine treatment group (P<0.05). Conclusion Strengthening psychotherapy, as an assistant measure of anti-depression drug therapy, can obviously increase the rehabilitation patents'chances and heal efficacy. It is lasting, stable, and worth to popularizing, and can improve the life quality of stroke patients. Key words: Psychotherapy; Stroke; Depression; Rehabilitation