A comparative study of the prescription of memantine and piracetam in poststroke aphasia

Abstract

Background: Aphasia is an acquired linguistic disease caused by brain injuries mostly in the left hemisphere. The symptoms can contain a vast spectrum of clinical manifestations. Methods: This double-blind randomized clinical trial study observed 70 patients with stroke. Patients’ characteristics and their demographic information registered prior to the intervention. Then, they were divided in two equal groups randomly; one group received piracetam and the other got memantine. Findings: The mean age was 61.6 ± 11.8 and 62.7 ± 11.8 years in memantine and piracetam groups, respectively. Covariance analysis demonstrated more significant improvements in memantine group in all aspects of the study except the fluency of speech. Conclusion: While memantine improve lots of symptoms of aphasia, todays it is less considered by physicians. However, we recommend its prescription in patients with aphasia as a safe and efficient drug. © 2015, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences(IUMS). All rights reserved.