Brain Electrodes Help Injured Man To Speak Again

An anonymous reader writes "A man beaten and left for dead has recovered the power of speech thanks to the use of electrodes to stimulate brain activity. 'Experts called the results encouraging but cautioned that the experimental treatment must be tried in more patients before its value can be assessed. The researchers are already proceeding with a larger study. Before the electrodes were implanted, the man was in what doctors call a "minimally conscious state." That means he showed only occasional awareness of himself and his environment. In a coma or vegetative state, by contrast, patients show no outward signs of awareness.'"

Comments

Re:So what's this mean for Terri Schiavo's doctors

[qbwiz]

This means absolutely nothing for Terry Schiavo, as they tried this technique (or at least one very similar to it) and it didn't work.

He noted that a similar treatment did not help Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman in a vegetative state whose care triggered national controversy before her death in 2005. That's the typical outcome for electrical brain stimulation in vegetative states, he said.

Please read the article next time.

Re:So what's this mean for Terri Schiavo's doctors

[TapeCutter]

"And until recently, that's what "medicine" and "science" thought was the case with the young man in the story. "

No, and why is it that many people automatically assume that "anything is possible" given enough time. People in that type of coma are known to wake up after months, even years, but medicine has not found much in the way of a reliable way to wake them up. He had "moments" where he was consious of his surroundings so the sugreons knew he was capable of responding when they tickled the right neurons. If the nerons are dead from lack of blood/oxygen, nothing short of resurection technology will bring them back and as the GP pointed out this would probably mean the patients "life" would start from scratch.

Besides if "medicine" and "science" thought it was impossible then why did they bother trying it out on this guy?

Re:So what's this mean for Terri Schiavo's doctors

[jbengt]

No, actually according to TFA, this technique has been tried with varying success before, and "He noted that a similar treatment did not help Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman in a vegetative state whose care triggered national controversy before her death in 2005. That's the typical outcome for electrical brain stimulation in vegetative states, he said."

Terri Schiavo was in a persistent vegative state, from which there is virtually no hope of recovering if it persists for a year or two. The subject of TFA was in a minimally concious state, from which varying degrees of spontaneous recovery is not unknown (though eventual death before any recovery is not uncommon either).