Failure of naloxone to reverse vascular neurologic deficits.

Naloxone failed to improve motor strength in any of 19 patients with acute stroke, even though 4 patients eventually demonstrated complete recovery. Two patients worsened, and sensory abnormalities increased in two others. Motor tone increased in eight patients. Naloxone amelioration of stroke deficits is therefore not common, and this treatment may not be entirely benign.