Tag: Persistent vegetative state

Study by Cambridge researchers finds ‘hidden brain signatures’ of consciousness in patients said to be in a persistent vegetative state

  By Dave Andrusko Last week the UK Independent newspaper published an article written by Science Editor Steve Connor, exploring a fascinating study by scientists at Cambridge University which found “Severely brain-damaged patients in a persistent vegetative state may be capable of being consciously aware of the outside world.” It is the latest in many …

Continue reading "Study by Cambridge researchers finds ‘hidden brain signatures’ of consciousness in patients said to be in a persistent vegetative state" →

Supposedly “vegetative” man responds to Hitchcock Thriller

  By Dave Andrusko For those follow NRL News Today, the name Adrian Owen will probably ring a bell. He has done some of the most spectacular work, demonstrating that some patients supposedly in a “persistent vegetative state’ (PVS) are actually aware. We last talked about this in December. Scott Routley had been diagnosed to …

Continue reading "Supposedly “vegetative” man responds to Hitchcock Thriller" →

A father’s promise leads to a remarkable life of love, sacrifice

  By Nancy Flanders For 31 years, Mikey Cortez lived in a coma-like state. At age seven, he was the victim of a drunk driver who stole the lives of his older brother and three other relatives. After doctors told his father Paul that his son might not live, he fell to his knees, took …

Continue reading "A father’s promise leads to a remarkable life of love, sacrifice" →

“Awakening His Mind’s Eye”

By Dave Andrusko Editor’s note. While my family and I are on vacation, we are running some of our favorite NRL News Today stories from the last four months, entries from our “Roe at 40″ series, and an occasional update.  This editorial appeared in the October 2003 edition of National Right to Life News  “Their evidence …

Continue reading "“Awakening His Mind’s Eye”" →

Using MRI brain scans to reach out to severely brain-injured patients

By Dave Andrusko Maggie Fox is a medical reporter now working for NBC News. I have her name plugged into my “Google Alerts” so when she’s written something I will know virtually the minute it goes online. Often I learn a lot while disagreeing with much that appears in her stories. The headline attached to …

Continue reading "Using MRI brain scans to reach out to severely brain-injured patients" →

Terri Schiavo-Type Patients May Feel Pain

By Wesley J. Smith  “Persistent vegetative state” is the only medical diagnosis I know of that contains a pejorative. No human being is a carrot. And the more we learn about these persistently unconscious patients, the more we  seem to be discovering that they may not be “gone” after all. Now, a study shows that …

Continue reading "Terri Schiavo-Type Patients May Feel Pain" →

BBC Panorama findings will heighten calls for review of Tony Bland judgement

By Dr. Peter Saunders Editor’s note. Dr. Saunders is a former general surgeon and CEO of Christian Medical Fellowship, a UK-based organization with 4,500 UK doctors and 1,000 medical students as members. Tonight’s BBC Panorama will tell the story of a Canadian man who was believed to have been in a vegetative state for more …

Continue reading "BBC Panorama findings will heighten calls for review of Tony Bland judgement" →

Awakened by a Sleeping Pill?

By Dave Andrusko Editor’s note. This first ran in 2006. “We have always been told there is no recovery from persistent vegetative state—doctors can only make a sufferer’s last days as painless as possible. But is that really the truth? Across three continents, severely brain-damaged patients are awake and talking after taking … a sleeping …

Continue reading "Awakened by a Sleeping Pill?" →

Medical Morality Requires Equally Valuing Unconscious Patients

By Wesley J. Smith A neurologist named Dr. Rohan Ramakrishna tells of a potential treatment for persistent vegetative state.  From the MSNBC report: “Researchers from the University of Munich recently reported that they were able to awaken an 82-year-old woman who’d been in a persistent vegetative state by using injections of her own immune cells. …

Continue reading "Medical Morality Requires Equally Valuing Unconscious Patients" →

New Twist in Rasouli case: ‘Vegetative’ patient now able to give ‘thumbs up’

By Alex Schadenberg, executive director, Euthanasia Prevention Coalition An article concerning the Rasouli case that was written by Lisa Priest and published Wednesday in the Globe and Mail under the title: Vegetative Patient now able to give ‘thumbs up,’ fueling debate over life support. The Rasouli case is currently scheduled to be heard by the …

Continue reading "New Twist in Rasouli case: ‘Vegetative’ patient now able to give ‘thumbs up’" →

Awakened by a Sleeping Pill?

By Dave Andrusko What are the odds? Two life-affirming articles from of all places NPR (see “Scientist: Fetal cells with healing properties remain in mothers for Life”) and the New York Times Magazine (“An Awakening: A mother describes the surprising effect that the pharmaceutical sleeping drug Ambien has had on her brain-damaged son” at http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/12/01/multimedia/100000001200115/ambiens-wakeful-effect.html.) …

Continue reading "Awakened by a Sleeping Pill?" →

Lancet Study Provides More Evidence that Patients in so-called “Persistent Vegetative State” May be Consciously Aware

By Dave Andrusko In recent years a number of ingenious studies have demonstrated  that many patients in a so-called “Persistent Vegetative State” (PVS) have been misdiagnosed and that some actually in a PVS are consciously aware. More fascinating and suggestive evidence to buttress this comes from a study just published online hours ago. The authors …

Continue reading "Lancet Study Provides More Evidence that Patients in so-called “Persistent Vegetative State” May be Consciously Aware" →