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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."
Most anti-anxiety medications work by fooling around with how Gaba is handled in the brain. I can't remember whether they inhibit it or make it more effective. Now here you have this thing saying that people in vegitative states have something wrong with their Gaba receptors.
Maybe someone who understands a little bit about brain chemistry (if such a person even exists) can shed some light on this. For instance, does this finding imply that you could induce a vegitative state in someone by stopping the action of Gaba in their brains, only to "restart" them once they're needed again?
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If my brain has been damaged so much that I can only be roused to awareness of my surroundings by a drug that artificially and temporarily activates bits and pieces of my brain, I just want to die quickly and painlessly. As far as I'm concerned, the biggest crime against me would be to keep me alive.
"Her parents desperately fought to keep her alive, because she could make sounds, move her limbs, keep solid eye contact on someone"
So can an ant. It doesn't make them human. If the personality is gone
and theres no sign of intellect all you have left is a base functioning
brain.
"It was downright horrible and state approved MURDER."
In your opinion. Perhaps if you'd been her husband you might have a
different opinion. You sanctamonious types are all mouth. I'd love to see
one of have to see your wife be a vegetable for years or even decades
and see if you still have your arrogant self righteous opinions then.
"Ths drug could have helped her have a normal life, but she did not live long enough to ever have the chance to try it!"
And many people in the middle ages died because they couldn't wait 500
years for anti biotics to be invented. So fscking what?
And many people in the middle ages died because they couldn't wait 500 years for anti biotics to be invented. So fscking what?
Westerners have an irrational fascination with these new drugs and yes, they do prolong life, but quality of life is most of the time in no way shape or form improved. I've seen family members whose bodies have basically failed, but the doctors have kept them physically alive for another couple of years, for nothing, at the cost of between $10,000-100,000 a piece.
I've been a victim of the FDA approved drug bullshit for almost 20 years, and now that I realize that the drugs made me worse over the years, which has been supported by medical studies, I'm off of the drugs, and at least for now, I'm fine, and I feel healthier than I have in over 20 years since before I started taking these things.
I will give western medicine 4 things. 1) Improved success in living for mothers and children during child birth. 2) Physical repair of broken things like hips and joints. 3) Improved quality and longevity of life because of antibiotics. 4) Immunizations for nasty things.
I'm sure that someone will add to the list, and I did not come up with that list via hard hours of research, its just one I've put together over the past few months of thinking about the stuff.
I was labeled as being mentally ill when I was 18, and have taken between 8-10 different maintenance drugs to help me "manage" my condition. Well, between 6-8 of those drugs are documented for making me worse, which is what I said word for word the last time I saw my doctor. So, he gave me another handful of drugs, that I never took and I threw in the trash. I have altered my diet, and am taking quality (read, not Centrum or anything like that) vitamins, herbs, and supplements, and I'm essentially symptom free, and I have had friends and coworkers comment on how much better I seem.
The drugs that were given to me gave me 1) Chronic diarrhea for over 18 months 2) Headaches 3) Vertigo to the point of almost getting in serious car accidents twice. 4) Depression, anxiety, confusion, and mania (what the drugs were supposed to treat) 5) Obsessive thoughts, usually in the form of a cheesy pop song that I could not get one line out of my head. 5) Daily dry heaves. 6) Paranoia 7) Generally a lower state of cognition and well being.
Oh, and if you think all of those things don't affect your personal and professional life, well, in my case they did.
The trend here is for the pharmaceutical companies to make "maintenance medications", not a cure or something that will drastically increase the speed of recovery and then forgo taking the drug. I strongly recommend that nobody take a drug that is prescribed by a doctor that has no time frame for when you are to stop taking the drug. At least, do plenty of research, and get second and third opinions before taking any maintenance drug.
Another thing to look into, is what you are eating. Most of the food in this country is either void of nutrients or has additives or pollutants in it or comes from unhealthy, uncared for animals. This is for another discussion.
My eldest child has an undiagnosed condition that has left her unable to walk, talk, move, eat etc. The condition developed gradually and doctors say that the problem seems to be in the brain stem. I gather that GABA affects the working of the brain stem.
Does anyone have a link to the actual paper, or more info on this? I hesitate to grind up an Ambien and put it in her G-tube, but even the thought of something that might help her brings tears to my eyes as I write this. You have no idea what it is like to watch your child essentially disintegrate right before your eyes -- it's been 18 years of torture.
Thanks in advance for any help.