In Reply.
—We thank Dr Fogel for his thoughtful comments.Our objective was to determine the prevalence of abnormal DST results in patients with stroke. This was done because so often it is difficult to be certain of depression on a clinical basis; thus, there is a need for a possible objective marker. These results were then to be related to depression as diagnosed clinically and to predicting rehabilitation outcome. Our study was not designed to assess the effect of antidepressant therapy on stroke rehabilitation outcome, although a few patients were treated medically for depression. The decision to use antidepressant medications, which agent to use, and the determination of the target dosage were in the hands of the patient's attending physician. Of the 38 patients with the clinical diagnosis of depression, seven received antidepressant medication. The improvement in the mean (±SEM) Barthel Activities of Daily Living scores was not significantly different for