Two drugs may enhance recovery from stroke
By Nathan Seppa
When a person has a stroke caused by a blood clot, doctors immediately prescribe powerful drugs to dissolve the clot and restore blood flow to starved brain tissues. This can save the patient’s life, but if part of the brain has been damaged, stroke survivors often face difficulties speaking or moving their limbs.
Studies in Germany and the United States now indicate that two drugs not currently prescribed for stroke–the anti-Parkinson’s disease medication levodopa and a stimulant called dextroamphetamine–can help restore function in the damaged parts of the brain. If tests in larger numbers of people support these findings, the drugs could improve poststroke therapy, which has been largely limited to speech training and physical therapy.