6533b7d1fe1ef96bd125bed2
RESEARCH PRODUCT
Long-lasting coma.
Bagnato SBoccagni CSant'angelo AFingelkurts AaFingelkurts AaCesare GagliardoGalardi Gsubject
Settore MED/37 - Neuroradiologiaascending reticular activating system (ARAS) coma diagnosis coma pathophysiology coma prognosis disorders of consciousness vegetative state.Settore MED/26 - NeurologiaSettore MED/36 - Diagnostica Per Immagini E Radioterapiadescription
n this report, we describe the case of a patient who has remained in a comatose state for more than one year after a traumatic and hypoxic brain injury. This state, which we refer to as long-lasting coma (LLC), may be a disorder of consciousness with significantly different features from those of conventional coma, the vegeta- tive state, or brain death. On the basis of clinical, neu- rophysiological and neuroimaging data, we hypothe- size that a multilevel involvement of the ascending reticular activating system is required in LLC. This description may be useful for the identification of other patients suffering from this severe disorder of con- sciousness, which raises important ethical issues.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-01-01 |