Neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with stroke: review of the literature

Objective

To review the main neuropsychiatric syndromes associated with stroke, their clinical features, impact over functional recovery, therapeutics, putative relations to stroke pathophysiology and, when possible, to contextualize them to the Brazilian reality.

Methods

It was performed a search on PubMed/MedLine and SciELO/Lilacs databases, using the terms “stroke” and “cerebrovascular disease” combined with “neuropsychiatry”, “neuropsychiatric disorders”, “psychiatry”, “psychiatric disorders”, “depression”, “anxiety” and “dementia”.

Results

According to the proposed objectives, we reviewed the stroke-related syndromes characterized by depression, anxiety, emotional lability, irritability, anger, catastrophic reaction, apathy, dementia, mania and psychosis.

Conclusion

These findings emphasize the lack of information on the therapeutic management of neuropsychiatric complications secondary to stroke, especially considering the burden on public health represented by cerebrovascular diseases. Following the improvement in the survival rates with the early strategies to stroke, the advancement of knowledge on neuropsychiatric disorders seem to have the greatest potential to improve the quality of life of patients affected by stroke.

Stroke; cerebrovascular disease; neuropsychiatry; depression; anxiety; dementia