The Effect of Priacetam in Aphasia due to Acute Brain Ischemic Stroke: Clinical trial

Background & Aims: Stroke incidence is 15 million people world wide annually and one third of these patients suffer from aphasia. Aphasia is often associated with significant disability in patients. Costs due to cerebrovascular diseases play an important role in national health expenditures. We aimed to assess the effect of piracetam in treatment of aphasia. Methods: Patients with acute ischemic stroke after completing informed consent form were divided randomly into two groups. The intervention group recieved standard treatment and 4800 mg piracetam daily for 12 weeks and the control group received standard treatment plus placebo. All patients on admission, and one, two, and three months post-stroke were evaluated using Nilipour Farsi aphasia test. Results: A total of 40 patients with stroke and mean age of 60.1 ± 17.2 years were assessed. Among them, the Broca aphasia had the most frequency and global and Wernicke aphasia had the least. The aphasia test showed significant difference between the intervention and control groups at the first and second months of follow-up; but the difference was not significant at the third month. Conclusion: Totally, piracetam does not affect the rate of recovery from aphasia, despite increasing patients' early recovery