Showing posts with label coma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coma. Show all posts

Friday, January 7, 2011

German woman gives birth to healthy children, being in a coma

German woman gives birth to healthy children, being in a coma.

A resident of Germany had a baby, being in a vegetative state.

Deliveries took place half a year ago, but for ethical reasons, the German doctors disclose information only on October 9.

Vegetative state, characterized by a lack of mental functions, which may be due to various injuries or dysfunction of the cerebral hemispheres. In this state, patients remain vegetative and motor reflexes, as well as the cycle changes of sleep and wakefulness. It is reported Med portal.

According to staff at the University Hospital of the Friedrich-Alexander, located in the German cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg, a 40-year-old German woman went into a vegetative state due to circulatory disorders of the brain caused by a heart attack. At the time of myocardial woman was 13 weeks pregnant. 22 weeks later, she delivered a healthy baby.

Director of health facility Matthias Beckmann said that, after half a year after giving birth abnormalities in the child's health is not observed. The hospital staff did not specify exactly how the child was born: vaginal delivery, or the woman needed a caesarean section. On the future of the patient at the time of birth were in a vegetative state, also not reported.

The first case of a woman giving birth, being in a vegetative state, was detected in 80 of the last century in the United States. Two similar cases have occurred in Germany, caused a storm in 1992, the ethical debate.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

People in a coma able to learn, - scientists


It turned out that people who are in a coma, despite the lack of means to give signals about its condition, can learn. This suggests that they are at least partially retain consciousness

Scientists first tested the ability of patients in a vegetative state and minimal consciousness, to learn. Convinced that such patients have the ability, the scientists intend to propose this simple test for use by practitioners. This saves doctors from having to assess the state of consciousness with the help of magnetic resonance imaging, reported MedicInform.Net

Using the classical conditioned reflex, the researchers lost a certain sound just before a blow to the patient in the eye. After some time, patients began zazhmurivat eyes, as only heard this sound.

Such learning requires conscious build links between stimuli - playing sound and the subsequent events. A similar study with a control group of volunteers in the state of anesthesia, did not happen.

The researchers believe that patients' ability to capture the connection between the events, said that they can form memories, and therefore can be subjected to rehabilitation. This test can be useful, since it is a very simple way to assess the patient's consciousness, which does not require special equipment.

In addition, the findings suggest that these patients have a chance for partial recovery, summed up the experts.

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