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Escitalopram and Language Intervention for Subacute Aphasia

This study is looking at whether escitalopram, a medication, can help improve language skills in people who have aphasia (difficulty speaking or understanding language) after a stroke. Participants will receive either escitalopram 10mg or a placebo (a sugar pill that looks like the medication), along with 15 sessions of computer-delivered naming treatment. Researchers want to see if escitalopram helps people get better at naming pictures after the treatment. You may be able to join if you are 18 or older, had a specific type of stroke within the last 5 days, and speak English. The study aims to enroll 88 participants, but its current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This is a Phase 2, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study involving 88 participants.
What's involved
Participants will receive escitalopram or a placebo daily for 90 days, along with 15 45-minute sessions of computer-delivered naming treatment.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Your language accuracy will be measured at the start of the study and one week after completing the computer-delivered naming treatment.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT03843463

Escitalopram and Language Intervention for Subacute Aphasia

Recruiting
PHASE2Ages 18–99InterventionalTreatment
Johns Hopkins University
~88 participants
Updated 2026-09-03 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Escitalopram 10mgPlaceboComputer-delivered naming treatment

At a glance

Recruiting sites
3 of 3 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Change in Philadelphia Naming Test short-form accuracy score
Measured over Baseline, 1 week after computer-delivered naming treatment

Conditions

Aphasia
Stroke

Explore related trials

AphasiaStroke

NCT03843463

Where you'd take part

This study runs at 3 sites. They're the same protocol — you choose where, and that choice sets who your contact draft is addressed to.

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

    Baltimore, Marylandstudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

  • Medical University of South Carolina

    Charleston, South Carolinastudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

  • University of South Carolina

    Columbia, South Carolinastudy coordinator listed

    Recruiting

Sites open and close at different times, so the status above is per site — it can differ from the study's overall status.

Study leadership

  • Argye Hillis-Trupe, MD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Johns Hopkins University

Who to contact

Argye Hillis-Trupe, MD
[email protected]
(410) 614-2381
Email the study team

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

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

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.

What this trial measures

  • Change in Philadelphia Naming Test short-form accuracy scoreBaseline, 1 week after computer-delivered naming treatment

    Number of correctly named items of 30 total items on the computerized picture naming assessment. Scores ranges from 0 to 30 with higher scores meaning better naming ability.