Are pharmacological interventions clinically useful to treat emotionalism after stroke? A Cochrane Review update summary with commentary.

BACKGROUND

Emotionalism, i.e. uncontrolled episodes of crying (or less commonly laughing) post stroke that are not triggered by situations that would have previously provoked such behavior occur in stroke survivors, may persist in some, and can be socially embarrassing.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether pharmacological interventions are beneficial, acceptable, and safe in the treatment of emotionalism post stroke.

METHODS

A Cochrane review by Allida et al. was summarized with comments.

RESULTS

From a total of 7 eligible trials with a total of 239 participants included in the review, five with 213 participants could be used for data extraction. Very low to moderate quality evidence pointed to some beneficial effects of antidepressants in the treatment of emotionalism after stroke.

CONCLUSIONS

The available data suggest that antidepressants may reduce the frequency and severity of crying or laughing episodes in stroke survivors with emotionalism.