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Awake with a small smile patient back from a life of awakening coma after more than 15 years
In France, medical professionals have succeeded in getting a patient out of the coma after 15 years. By stimulating the vagus nerve, the neurologists made the man react again to the stimuli of the outside world.
Man brought out of the wake coma after 15 years
A 35-year-old man who lost consciousness in a serious car accident 15 years ago and since then could breathe independently, but otherwise only staring into space, could fix nothing and did not respond to any stimuli, has been brought back from the coma by neurologists. The case from France is considered to be a small medical sensation, since it is believed that the prospects of improving brain activity and the return of responsiveness after such a long period of time are minimal.
From the coma awakens. Image: CandyBox Images - fotolia Condition changeable even after a long period of illness
Visceral patients sometimes exhibit "external signs of alertness, but in our understanding they have no consciousness. The so-called higher brain functions are extinguished, "explains Dr. Jürgen Herzog, chief physician of the neurological early rehabilitation of the Schön Klinik München Schwabing on the website of the clinic.
"Just a few years ago, doctors assumed that this condition would not change after a certain period of illness," says the expert. But "this time you have taken something back again."
After all, about a quarter of the guard coma patients "in the long run actually a real awareness back," explains the physician.
The case of France, which is described in the journal "Current Biology", shows that the situation of those affected can be significantly improved.
After medical understanding hopeless case
The neurologists from Lyon have chosen a nearly hopeless case according to medical understanding for their study.
In the patient, who has been in coma for 15 years, they stimulated the vagus nerve, the cranial nerve that controls the activities of almost all the organs in the body and is thus crucial in unconscious bodily functions such as digestion, sleep or the heart rhythm.
And their approach showed success: As reported by "science.orf.at", Angela Sirigu of the Institute of Cognitive Science Marc Jeannerod in France said: "We have now succeeded in showing that one can improve the contact of a person to the outside world."
According to reports, just one month after the patient was implanted with the nerve stimulator in the chest, the current therapy works: "The man began to respond to simple instructions that were previously unthinkable," says Sirigu.
It is said that the 35-year-old could, among other things, turn his head on instructions and follow an object with his eyes.
Patient showed emotions again for the first time
According to his mother, the son also found it easier to stay awake when his therapist read a story to him.
He also showed emotions for the first time again. According to the researchers, the researchers found "a smile on their left cheek and tears" as they put on the 35-year-old's favorite music.
"After many years in the wake coma, he has now reached a state of minimal awareness," the researchers report.
Now it is important to confirm the success in other patients. So far, the vagus stimulator has been used only in the treatment of epilepsy and depression. (Ad)