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Drug Found to Aid Vegetative Patients
Oxygen99 writes "BBC News is reporting on some amazing effects of a drug called Zolpidem on patients suffering from persistent vegetative state. Apparently the drug, usually used to treat insomnia, activates dormant areas of the brain that can make patients aware of their surroundings and even hold conversations. This raises several interesting points including the diagnosis of PVS and the attendant ethics of the associated life support, as well as the way the brain responds to injury and damage."
Great!!! Finally they found medicine for my boss!!
FP, BTW?
hilarious
Persistent vegetative state: the point at which the brain reaches extremely low levels of activity, with a notable lack of higher order cognitive reasoning, commonly found in those reading slashdot.
A person in a vegetative state will appear to be awake and may have their eyes open, but will show no awareness of their surroundings.
They will not be able to interact with other people, and will show no responses to sounds or things that happen around them.
But they will show signs of movement, and cycles of sleep and may be able to breathe on their own.
So what would happen if they would start to give these drugs to technical support people and system admins? Would they also start to show responses to their environment, and manage to hold a conversation?
I found your hypothosis intruiging, so I went out to try it.
I could not find a simple way to stop the action of the gaba in the brains without physically removing their head (a messy procedure).
I did however find that if you remove the Gaba there is no way to restart the action afterwards.
liqbase
Salad dressing always seems to bring my vegetables to life.
*cue cricket cheeps*
What?
does it work on managers?
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
It'd be cool to know exactly what "simple questions" were asked and what their responses were. My definition of a "simple question" might differ from theirs. Even if they had asked /complex/ questions, that doesn't necessarily mean the answer was correct or even intelligible.
Researcher: Hi there, can you see me? Patient: FFOOOOOOOOOMDE!
Sure, they interacted with the researcher and they answered a simple question. Their response could even arguably be considered a word, perhaps poorly pronounced, but... I fear the article leads this discovery to sound more amazing than it actually might be.
I caught the Mountain Wumpus! He gave me his treasure chest ($100) to let him go free again.
Eh? Sounds like my morning coffee after a night too much cheer! (not to make light of folks with real mental distress)
Especially since it's "usually used to treat insomnia" (summary). There's not much use for an IQ of 180 if you're asleep.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Our brain is umami and sweet at the same time? Maybe zombies are just looking for low-calorie Oriental fare.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Drugs to aid vegetative patients is ridiculous when you can simply cure them by feeding them meat.
I read that article title and immediately wondered if the researchers were using BabyBio or MiracleGro...
"Little does he know, but there is no 'I' in 'Idiot'!"
I have found massive doses of grain alcohol in almost any form to very effectivly moderate my GABA system, and high enough a dose will indeed induce a vegitative state known as "being so freaking drunk I can't think, stand, or walk."
I don't know, that chick from Kill Bill seemed ok after her coma