Disorders of Consciousness (DOC) like Vegetative State (VS), and Minimally Conscious State (MCS) are clinical conditions characterized by the absence or intermittent behavioral responsiveness. A neurophysiological monitoring of parameters like Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) could be a first step to follow-up the clinical evolution of these patients during their rehabilitation phase. Eleven pat...

Coma, vegetative state (VS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) are disastrous outcomes following severe traumatic brain injury. Due to the extent of the resultant neurological deficits including hemisphere damage, loss of cellular integrity, altered and abnormal movements such as flexor and extensor patterns, and alterations in cranial nerve function, it can become difficult for the interprofe...

tDCS in patients with disorders of consciousness: Sham-controlled randomized double-blind study Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was delivered in randomized order over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for 20 minutes in patients in a vegetative state/ unresponsive wakefulness syndrome or in a minimally conscious state (MCS). They were assessed at least 1 week after the acute...

INTRODUCTION Assessing the awareness level in patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is made on the basis of exhibited behaviors. However, since motor signs of awareness (i.e., non-reflex motor responses) can be very subtle, differentiating the vegetative from minimally conscious states (which is in itself not clear-cut) is often challenging. Even the careful clinician relying on standa...

INTRODUCTION Altered states of consciousness have traditionally been associated with poor prognosis. At present, clinical differences between these entities are beginning to be established. METHOD Our study included 37 patients diagnosed with vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and 43 in a minimally conscious state (MCS) according to the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R...

BACKGROUND Patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) show restricted self or environment awareness but are unable to communicate consistently and reliably. Therefore, better understanding of cerebral noxious processing in these patients is of clinical, therapeutic, and ethical relevance. METHODS We studied brain activation induced by bilateral electrical stimulation of the median nerve in...

the paradoxical “arousing” effect of Zolpidem, a highly selective nonbenzodiazepine gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist acting on the [omega]-1 site of the GABA A receptor, in persistent vegetative state (PVS), in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients, ischemic stroke cases, after brain injury, and in patients suffering hypoxic encephalopathy.1 We describe here this paradoxical arousing e...

BACKGROUND The assessment of pain and nociception in non-communicative patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC) is a real challenge for clinicians. It is, therefore, important to develop sensitive standardized tools usable at the bedside. OBJECTIVES This review aims to provide an overview of the current knowledge about pain processing and assessment in patients with DOC. METHODS A sea...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to validate the use of electromyography (EMG) for detecting responses to command in patients in vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS) or in minimally conscious state (MCS). METHODS Thirty-eight patients were included in the study (23 traumatic, 25 patients >1 year post-onset), 10 diagnosed as being in VS/UWS, eight in MCS- (no response ...

Caring for children in vegetative state (VS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) challenges parents and impacts on their well-being. This study aims to evaluate caregivers' health condition, coping, anxiety and depression levels, and how these issues relate to children's disability. 35 children with VS and MCS were administered the disability rating scale (DRS) and 35 caregivers completed the Co...