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."

Comments

Re:Oblig. Terri Schiavo comment.

[pedantic bore]

Pull the plug too early? Her husband would say "we" waited many years too long...

According to the autopsy, this drug would have had to have done a lot more than described here. Maybe if they'd given it to her when she first fell into a coma (we'll never know) but by the time she died, her brain was irreperable.

Re:Oblig. Terri Schiavo comment.

[clickclickdrone]

For those that didn't bother to read the medical reports and instead relied on the newspapers/media, Terri's brain had totally atrophied away, it was gone. Her skull contained the brain stem, a bit of shrivelled brain and an awful lot of fluid. There really was no hope, she was long gone.