SynthesisCNS drugs2016
Piracetam for Aphasia in Post-stroke Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.
Synthesis in CNS drugs, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic-search-and-review of registered pharmacological therapies investigated to improve neuro-recovery after a stroke.Frontiers in neurology · 2024Pooled it
- Brazilian practice guidelines for stroke rehabilitation: Part II.Arquivos de neuro-psiquiatria · 2022Guideline
- Efficacy and safety of DL-3-N-butylphthalide in the treatment of ischemic poststroke aphasia: A randomized clinical trial.Annals of clinical and translational neurology · 2024Trial
- Aphasia rehabilitation: a narrative review of adjuvant techniques.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Therapies and Challenges in the Post-Stroke Aphasia Rehabilitation Arena: Current and Future Prospects.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2023Review
- Supporting Post-Stroke Language and Cognition with Pharmacotherapy: Tools for Each Phase of Care.Current neurology and neuroscience reports · 2023Review
- Outcomes in Patients with Minor Stroke: Diagnosis and Management in the Post-thrombectomy Era.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2023Review
- Effects of Acupuncture-Related Therapies in the Rehabilitation of Patients with Post-Stroke Aphasia-A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Brain sciences · 2022Review
- Better language through chemistry: Augmenting speech-language therapy with pharmacotherapy in the treatment of aphasia.Handbook of clinical neurology · 2022Review
- Article
- A physician survey of poststroke aphasia diagnosis and treatment in China: SPEECH study.Medicine · 2021Observational
- Functional recovery differences after stroke rehabilitation in patients with uni- or bilateral hemiparesis.Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) · 2017Article
- [New aspects of neurorehabilitation: motor and language].Der Nervenarzt · 2016Review
- Enhanced Neuroplasticity by the Metabolic Enhancer Piracetam Associated with Improved Mitochondrial Dynamics and Altered Permeability Transition Pore Function.Neural plasticity · 2016Article
- Observation on the clinical efficacy of external ventricular drain combined with intraventricular urokinase injection and intravenous piracetam in the treatment of intraventricular hemorrhage.Pakistan journal of medical sciencesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAphasia is a common symptom in post-stroke patients. Piracetam is a commonly used nootropic agent that promises various benefits to brain function, including language improvement.
objectiveWe performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess whether piracetam facilitates the rehabilitation of language performance in post-stroke patients.
methodsRandomized controlled trials (RCTs) of piracetam treatment in post-stroke patients published in any language were included, excluding those involving pre-existing cognitive disorders such as dementia and mood disturbances. We searched several databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycINFO for RCTs published up to 31 December 2015. We conducted a meta-analysis using RevMan (version 5.3), with standardized mean differences (SMDs) and fixed-effect models, and used StataSE (version 13) for the detection of publication bias. This study has been submitted to PROSPERO, and its registration number is CRD42016034088.
resultsWe identified 1180 titles and abstracts, and finally included seven RCTs in this meta-analysis. The number of participants in each study ranged from 19 to 66, summing up to 261 patients overall. The dose of piracetam was consistent while the frequency and time of therapy varied. The assessment of the language at the end of trials showed no significant improvement in overall severity of aphasia [SMD 0.23, 95 % confidence interval (CI) -0.03 to 0.49, P = 0.08], but written language (SMD 0.35, 95 % CI 0.04 to 0.66, P = 0.03) showed pronounced improvement. Subgroup analyses indicated a dissociation of effectiveness between short- and long-term assessment in overall severity (P = 0.008, I (2) = 85.6 %) in terms of tests for subgroup differences, and a mild trend toward dissociation in written subtests (P = 0.30, I (2) = 5.1 %). Funnel plots and Egger's test identified no obvious publication bias in the primary variable.
conclusionsPiracetam plays a limited role in the rehabilitation of overall language impairment and only benefits written language ability at the end of trials. Its effect on overall linguistic level and written language tends to emerge within a short period and declines thereafter.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.