It’s nearly impossible not to look at a comatose patient and wonder if they have any awareness. A new study may soon help doctors identify not just which unresponsive patients may possess some degree of consciousness — but whether they have a chance for recovery. The key? Looking for brain waves that match those resembling typical sleep patterns, according to the study published in Nature Medicine.
“We’re at an exciting crossroad in neurocritical care where we know that many patients appear to be unconscious, but some are recovering without our knowledge,” Jan Claassen, a Columbia University neurology researcher and an author of the study, said in a press release. “We're starting to lift the lid a little bit and find some signs of recovery as it's happening."
Research over the past few decades has shown that up to 25 percent of unresponsive patients with a recent brain injury have some ...
