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Could an antidepressant help stroke survivors regain speech?

NCT ID NCT03843463

Symptom relief Sponsor: Johns Hopkins University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Sep 04, 2026 · Updated 3 times

Summary

This study tests whether escitalopram (Lexapro), a common antidepressant, combined with computer-based naming therapy can improve language recovery in people with aphasia after a stroke. About 88 participants who had a left-hemisphere stroke within the past 5 days will receive either escitalopram or a placebo, plus 15 sessions of computer naming treatment starting 2 months after the stroke. The main goal is to see if this combination improves naming ability and overall language production.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Escitalopram (Lexapro) and computer-delivered naming therapy
What this could lead to
If it works, this could point toward a way to boost language recovery after stroke using a common antidepressant combined with speech therapy.
What could go wrong
This is a small Phase 2 trial, so results may not apply to everyone. Escitalopram can cause side effects like nausea or drowsiness, and the language therapy may not help all participants.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

About 88 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Jul 2021

Expected to finish

Jun 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 to 99 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

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 Criteria: * Previous neurological disease affecting the brain including previous symptomatic stroke * Diagnosis of schizophrenia, autism, or other psychiatric or neurological condition that affects naming/language * A history of additional risk factors for torsades de pointes (TdP; e.g., heart failure, hypokalemia, family history of Long QT Syndrome) * Current severe depression, defined as a score of \> 15 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) * Uncorrected visual loss or hearing loss by self-report * Use of any medication approved by the FDA for treatment of depression at the time of stroke onset * Concomitant use of any monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) or pimozide, or other drugs that prolong the QT/QTc interval, triptans (and other 5-Hydroxytryptamine Receptor Agonists), or other contraindications to escitalopram that may be identified. * A QTc greater than 450 milliseconds on electrocardiogram or evidence of hyponatremia (Na \< 130) at baseline * Pregnancy at the time of stroke or planning to become pregnant during the study term.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

aphasia ischemic stroke stroke disorder

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Aphasia Stroke

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

    RECRUITING

    Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States

  • Medical University of South Carolina

    RECRUITING

    Charleston, South Carolina, 29425, United States

  • University of South Carolina

    RECRUITING

    Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, United States

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