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from the pathway-to-freedom-or-fate-worse-than-death? dept.
Surgery to embed a nerve-stimulating implant in a patient in a persistent vegetative state (15 years), resulted in the patient reverting to a "minimally conscious" state.
After lying in a vegetative state for 15 years, a 35-year-old male patient in France appears to have regained minimal consciousness following months of vagus nerve stimulation, researchers report today in Current Biology.
The patient, who suffered severe brain damage in a car crash, had shown no signs of awareness or improvement before. He made no apparent purposeful movements and didn't respond to doctors or family at his bedside. But after researchers surgically implanted a device that stimulates the vagus nerve, quiet areas of his brain began to perk up—as did he.
His eyes turned toward people talking and could follow a moving mirror. He turned his head to follow a speaker moving around his bed. He slowly shook his head when asked. When researchers suddenly drew very close to his face, his eyes widened as if he was surprised or scared. When caregivers played his favorite music, he smiled and shed a tear.
Note that "respond" is on the level of "turning his head when asked, though that took a minute."
A few thoughts on this:
- Medical advances are COOL!
- Hopefully, this advance can help some folks.
- This makes ethical questions concerning patients in persistent vegetative states more urgent:
- (e.g. the question of whether/when to pull the plug has become even more confusing)
- This introduces some new ethical questions:
- Is it ethical to "bring back" someone after 15 years? (the world has changed quite significantly)
- Is it ethical to "bring back" someone to a state where they're might just barely be conscious enough to realise how much their state sucks?
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday September 26 2017, @05:16PM (3 children)
Have you ever had major surgery?
I would expect "minimally conscious" would be that state you are in when awaking from anesthesia, unable to see, maybe you can hear, maybe not, doctors and nurses having to hold you down as you struggle against the panic of not knowing where you are, why you can't breath, totally unable to understand what is going on, because you can't hold a coherent thought for more than an instant...
I can't imagine a worse state to be trapped in.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Tuesday September 26 2017, @05:34PM (2 children)
Have you ever had major surgery?
I would expect "minimally conscious" would be that state you are in when awaking from anesthesia, unable to see, maybe you can hear, maybe not, doctors and nurses having to hold you down as you struggle against the panic of not knowing where you are
Huh? I've had surgery several times with general anesthesia, the most recent time about 2 years ago, and the first time being having my wisdom teeth removed. I don't remember any of this; I just came to. I was a little bit groggy at first, and couldn't walk, but it seemed a lot better than what most people describe for their alcoholic hangovers. It was far better than some other times in my life I can recall, such as having the flu or food poisoning.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Tuesday September 26 2017, @06:15PM (1 child)
I hope you never need open heart surgery.
Tooth surgery isn't even close. You were merely asleep. I've been there as well.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Wednesday September 27 2017, @03:19AM
No, for my wisdom teeth I was under full anaesthesia. It was apparently quite a process getting them out.
And as I said, I've had a couple other, much more recent surgeries, with full anesthesia (propofol I think was one of the drugs used). It just wasn't a big deal. I just came to, and was fully conscious and alert pretty soon afterwards. And I didn't need any of the opioid painkillers they gave me by default either, despite an incision a couple inches long.