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Authors studied 198 patients with first-ever cerebral stroke. Affective disorders, including depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and phobias, were identified in 71.2% of patients. The study demonstrated that the anxiety syndrome developed in the post-stroke period may be regarded as relatively independent. Some post-stroke anxiety disorders had different risk and pathogenetic factors. GAD is associated with young age and phobias are associated with female sex and inherited predisposition. In contrast to post stroke depression, anxiety-phobic disorders develop more frequently in patients with mild stroke.

An aim of the study was to evaluate clinical features and risk factors of post stroke apathy. The study included 209 patients with first-time stroke. Assessments of neurological and mental status were carried out on the 1st, 7th day, after 2 weeks, 1 month, 3, 6 and 12 months after stroke. The frequency of apathy was 28.2%. Three types of apathy were singled out: classical, depressive, and combined. Apathy was significantly associated with the older age of patients, right-sided brain lesion and worst recovery of neurological deficit. Patients with depressive apathy were significantly older than patients without apathy, classic apathy was more common in men, and depressive apathy - in women. Depressive apathy was significantly associated with small lesions, while classic or combined apathy was significantly associated with the average volume of lesions.

We have studied 198 patients with first-ever stroke. The spectrum of affective disorders included depressions, generalized anxiety disorder, phobias. The study has demonstrated that mentioned post stroke affective disorders have different risk and pathogenetic factors. In stroke patients, affective disorders were caused by the damage of different brain areas. Depression was associated with the damage of left frontal/temporal cortical areas and left subcortical structures. On the contrary, anxiety disorders were associated with the damage of these structures in the right hemisphere.

Platelet serotonin content in patients in the acute period of stroke is an important index of clinical changes during the post stroke period as well as a predictor of development of mental disorders. We studied the association between two polymorphisms (5-HTTLPR and Val66Met BDNF) and the platelet serotonin content in 47 patients with stroke. We also investigated the moderating effect of genetic variants on the association between platelet serotonin content and development of affective and anxiety disorders in stroke patients in the acute period of stroke. The interaction effect of two polymorphisms on levels of platelet serotonin was found. The lowest level was observed in patients with the diplotype LL*ValVal, the highest level--in the group of patients with the LL genotype and genotypes containing at least one copy of a Met allele. No moderating effect of genetic variants on the relationship between serotonin content and affective or anxiety disorder was found.

Fifty patients with affective disorders developed after first cerebral stroke were studied. A spectrum of affective disorders included post-stroke depressions, generalized anxiety disorders, anxiety-depressive disorders and pseudo post-stroke depressions. Platelet serotonin (PS) levels were measured in these patients as well. The levels of PS at the first three days after stroke and their changes towards the 28th day are associated with the development of post-stroke affective disorders. The development of anxiety-depressive disorders in the acute period of stroke is related to the localization of brain lesion focus. The low levels of PS in patients at the first three days after stroke may be the risk factor of delayed affective disorders development.

One hundred and forty-nine patients with ischemic stroke who had different affective disorders developed one year after stroke (depression, anxiety, depression-anxiety disorders) were included in the study. Based on the computer data analysis of EEG, we singled out the characteristics of bioelectrical brain activity in patients with different types of poststroke affective disorders in acute, early and late restorative periods.

Different types of depression in patients who survived cerebral stroke and their influence on the rehabilitation process were studied. One hundred and fifteen patients were examined. The clinical heterogeneity of post-stroke depression was shown. A clinical analysis allowed to find different nosological and psychopathological forms of depressive disorders. Two main nosological forms of depression--reactive and endoreactive--were found. The liability to affective disorders exerts the influence on the development of depression; reactive depression is related with more severe functional damage. Depression, in particular reactive one, has an unfavorable effect on the rehabilitation of neurological deficit and ability to self-service.