Conclusions Piracetam plays a limited role in the rehabilitation of overall language impairment and only benefits written language ability at the end of trials .
Its effect on overall linguistic level and written language tends to emerge within a short period and declines thereafter
Background Aphasia is a common symptom in post-stroke patients .
Piracetam is a commonly used nootropic agent that promises various benefits to brain function , including language improvement .
Objective We performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to assess whether piracetam facilitates the rehabilitation of language performance in post-stroke patients .
Piracetam Improves Activated Blood Flow and Facilitates Rehabilitation of Poststroke Aphasic Patients
Background and Purpose In a prospect i ve , double-blind , placebo-controlled study , it was investigated whether piracetam improves language recovery in poststroke aphasia assessed by neuropsychological tests and activation PET measurement of cerebral blood flow . Methods Twenty-four stroke patients with aphasia were r and omly allocated to 2 groups : 12 patients received  2400 mg piracetam twice daily , 12 placebo . Before and at the end of the 6-week treatment period in which both groups received intensive speech therapy , the patients were examined neuropsychologically and studied with H215O PET at rest and during activation with a word-repetition task .  Blood flow was analyzed in 14 language -activated brain regions defined on reconstructed surface views from MRI coregistered to the PET images . Results Before treatment , both groups were comparable with respect to performance in language tasks and to type and severity of aphasia . In the piracetam group , increase of activation effect was significantly higher ( P < 0.05 ) in the left transverse temporal gyrus , left triangular part of inferior frontal gyrus , and left posterior superior temporal gyrus after the treatment period compared with the initial measures . The placebo group showed an increase of activation effect only in the left vocalization area . In the test battery , the piracetam group improved in 6 language functions , the placebo group only in 3 subtests . Conclusions Piracetam as an adjuvant to speech therapy improves recovery of various language functions , and this effect is accompanied by a significant increase of task-related flow activation in eloquent areas of the left hemisphere
Conclusions Piracetam plays a limited role in the rehabilitation of overall language impairment and only benefits written language ability at the end of trials .
Its effect on overall linguistic level and written language tends to emerge within a short period and declines thereafter
Background Aphasia is a common symptom in post-stroke patients .
Piracetam is a commonly used nootropic agent that promises various benefits to brain function , including language improvement .
Objective We performed a systematic review and meta- analysis to assess whether piracetam facilitates the rehabilitation of language performance in post-stroke patients .