No evidence exists at present to support the use of amphetamine after stroke .
INTRODUCTION The use of drugs to enhance recovery ( " rehabilitation pharmacology " ) has been assessed .
Amphetamine can improve outcome in experimental models of stroke , and several small clinical trials have assessed its use in stroke .
Cardiac Baroreceptor Sensitivity Predicts Long-Term Outcome After Acute Ischemic Stroke
Background and Purpose — The baroreceptor reflex arc is important in the short-term regulation of the cardiovascular system , and small studies have reported impaired cardiac baroreceptor sensitivity ( BRS ) after acute stroke . However , the prognostic significance of impaired BRS is uncertain . Methods — One hundred twenty-four patients underwent simultaneous ECG and noninvasive beat-to-beat blood pressure ( BP ) monitoring within 72 hours of neuroradiologically confirmed acute ischemic stroke . Cardiac BRS was assessed from the combined & agr;-index by means of power spectral analysis techniques . Baseline data for acute stroke patients were compared with those of a control group matched for age , sex , and casual BP . Patients were followed up for a median of 1508 days ( range , 9 to 2656 days ) , and outcome was compared between patients with and without impaired BRS . Results — Median BRS values were significantly lower in stroke patients than in controls ( 5 [ interquartile range , 3.5 to 7.4 ] versus 6.2 [ interquartile range , 4.5 to 8.3 ] ms/mm Hg;P = 0.04 ) . Sixty-one ( 33 male ) patients ( mean age , 70.2 [ SD 10.5 ] years ) had impaired BRS ( ≤5.0 ms/mm Hg ) compared with 63 ( 35 male ) patients ( mean age , 70.6 [ SD 11.7 ] years ) without impaired BRS ( > 5.0 ms/mm Hg ) . Stroke patients with impaired BRS values had a significantly poorer prognosis ( 28 % versus 8 % mortality rate during the follow-up period ) although there were no differences in age , stroke severity , stroke type , or casual or 24-hour BP parameters between the 2 groups . Conclusions — Impaired cardiac BRS is associated with increased long-term mortality after acute ischemic stroke , irrespective of age , sex , stroke type , and BP . This may reflect cardiac arrhythmias , but the mechanisms underlying this association are unknown , although therapies that improve cardiac BRS after stroke warrant further investigation
No evidence exists at present to support the use of amphetamine after stroke .
INTRODUCTION The use of drugs to enhance recovery ( " rehabilitation pharmacology " ) has been assessed .
Amphetamine can improve outcome in experimental models of stroke , and several small clinical trials have assessed its use in stroke .