No, a truly brain-dead patient cannot purposefully squeeze your hand because brain death means irreversible loss of all brain and brainstem function, making them legally dead and unable to respond to stimuli, though spinal reflexes (like twitching) might occur, which are not conscious actions. Squeezing a hand in response to touch, or purposeful movements like smiling or following commands, indicates a minimally conscious state or vegetative state, not brain death.
Put simply, a comatose patient will typically have closed eyes, and will be entirely non-responsive to any form of external stimulation (for example, if you ask them to squeeze your hand, they will not).
In brain death, you don't react to noise, lights or touch as you would before your brain injury. You may move, but your movement is involuntary, meaning you didn't move on purpose.
The person is alive but unresponsive. They can't wake up, speak, or move, and they don't react to light, sound, or pain. Unlike brain death, a person in a coma still has some brain activity. They may breathe on their own or require assistance, and vital functions like circulation continue.
A person in a vegetative state may open their eyes, wake up and fall asleep at regular intervals and have basic reflexes, such as blinking when they're startled by a loud noise, or withdrawing their hand when it's squeezed hard. They're also able to regulate their heartbeat and breathing without assistance.
Other studies have shown that up to 20 percent of patients in various vegetative states can hear and respond on at least some level. But at least some of the responses seen could be dismissed as simple reflexes, or at best akin to someone in a dream state responding to stimuli.
Hypoxic Brain Injury
In most cases, the injury is caused by a medical incident or emergency, such as a heart attack or stroke. If an individual does not receive immediate medical attention or help to restore oxygen flow, the brain suffers irreversible damage, possibly leading to death.
It can be confusing to be told someone has brain death, because their life support machine will keep their heart beating and their chest will still rise and fall with every breath from the ventilator. But they will not ever regain consciousness or start breathing on their own again. They have already died.
In the hours before death, most people fade as the blood supply to their body declines further. They sleep a lot, their breathing becomes very irregular, and their skin becomes cool to the touch. Those who do not lose consciousness in the days before death usually do so in the hours before they die.
Brain dead patients look asleep, but they are not. They do not hear or feel anything, including pain. This is because the parts of the brain that feel, sense, and respond to the world no longer work. In addition, the brain can no longer tell the body to breathe.
The researchers looked for involuntary movements in 38 patients with brain death. 15 had motor movements, all of which were seen in the first 24 hours after diagnosis of brain death. The most common were finger movements (Neurology 2000; 54: 221–23).
The three essential findings in brain death are coma, absence of brainstem reflexes, and apnoea.
The heart continues to beat while the ventilator delivers oxygen to the lungs (the heart can initiate its own beating without nerve impulses from the brain) but, despite the beating heart and warm skin, the person is dead. Since the brain has stopped working, the person won't breathe if the ventilator is switched off.
Symptoms
Unfortunately, neurostorming is not a reliable indicator of healing. Sometimes, it may indicate recovery is happening, particularly in younger patients with higher brain plasticity. In other cases, it could still result in a negative outcome. Essentially, the recovery will come down to each individual.
Middle stage (hours before death).
As the body continues to slow down, the person may become completely unresponsive. Breathing may become more labored or exhibit a distinct pattern called Cheyne-Stokes breathing, where periods of rapid breaths alternate with moments of no breathing at all.
it does show that most people die between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.," she says. She explains that some professionals refer to this window as the "letting go hour." Other studies and experts have a slightly different take, citing the most common time as 6 a.m.—8 a.m., or even peaking at 11 a.m.
Facial muscles may relax and the jaw can drop. Skin can become very pale. Breathing can alternate between loud rasping breaths and quiet breathing. Towards the end, dying people will often only breathe periodically, with an intake of breath followed by no breath for several seconds.
Brain death can occur when the blood and/or oxygen supply to the brain is stopped. This can be caused by: cardiac arrest – when the heart stops beating and the brain is starved of oxygen. heart attack – a serious medical emergency that occurs when the blood supply to the heart is suddenly blocked.
Conclusion. Continuing artificial life support for patients who are brain dead may produce harm to patients, families, and others involved. Declaration of brain death should not be delayed to wait for families or to justify hospital care. Instead, appropriate family care should be provided after the death declaration.
In a vegetative state, the patient will regain some of their reflexes. They react to stimuli such as loud noises or pain. The patient may also open their eyes and appear awake, but they are not yet fully conscious. Reflexes are a good sign that the brain is on the right track to healing.
Causes can include blood clots, ruptured blood vessels, or narrowing or hardening of blood vessels that supply the brain. Symptoms can include problems with memory and focus, confusion, changes in personality and behavior, loss of speech and language skills, and sometimes physical symptoms, such as weakness or tremors.