A randomised double blind, placebo-controlled study of Nefiracetam in patients with post- stroke apathy

The successful psycho-physical rehabilitation of stroke victims remains challenging. Recent advances have resulted in progress in acute treatment of stroke, however post-acute rehabilitation remains basically unchanged. One reason for this is the high frequency of emotional and behavioural disorders post-stroke, such as apathy. Apathy is associated with greater deficits in activities of daily living, more severe cognitive deficits, longer hospital stay, and worse rehabilitation and functional outcomes. There are no known effective pharmacological or psychological treatments for apathy after stroke. We aim to determine if treatment with nefiracetam decreases the severity of post-stroke apathy. We will also test whether nefiracetam results in greater improvement on functional and social impairments, quality of life and cognition as compared to placebo.