Potential effects of common drugs on stroke recovery.

Studies in laboratory animals clearly show that the rate and extent of functional recovery after focal brain injury can be modulated by drugs affecting certain neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. Preliminary clinical studies suggest that similar drug effects occur in humans recovering from stroke. Understanding these pharmacological effects is important because several of the classes of drugs that impair recovery in laboratory experiments are used to treat coincident medical problems in patients who have had a stroke.