Escitalopram and Language Intervention for Subacute Aphasia (ELISA)
Johns Hopkins University
Summary
In this project, the investigators will investigate the effects of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram, on augmenting language therapy effectiveness, as measured by naming untrained pictures and describing pictures, in individuals with aphasia in the acute and subacute post stroke period (i.e., within three months post stroke).
Description
In this project, the investigators will investigate the effects of a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), escitalopram, on augmenting language therapy effectiveness, as measured by naming untrained pictures and describing pictures, in individuals with aphasia in the acute and subacute post stroke period (i.e., within three months post stroke). There has been no previous randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effect of daily SSRI in the first three months after stroke on improvement of language in people undergoing aphasia treatment. It is plausible that SSRIs, which elevat…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–99 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Participants must have sustained an acute ischemic left hemisphere stroke. * Participants must be fluent speakers of English by self-report. * Participants must be capable of giving informed consent or indicating a legally authorized representative to provide informed consent. * Participants must be age 18 or older. * Participants must be within 5 days of onset of stroke. * Participants must be pre-morbidly right-handed by self-report. * Participants must have an aphasia diagnosis as confirmed by the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (Aphasia Quotient \< 93.8). Exclusion…
Interventions
- DrugEscitalopram 10mg
Escitalopram tablet
- DrugPlacebo
Sugar pill manufactured to mimic escitalopram 10 mg tablet
- BehavioralComputer-delivered naming treatment
15 45-minute sessions of computer-delivered naming treatment beginning two months following stroke
Locations (3)
- Johns Hopkins School of MedicineBaltimore, Maryland
- Medical University of South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
- University of South CarolinaColumbia, South Carolina