If they have been in a vegetative state for more than one year, they have little chance of ever recovering. Additionally, no one can communicate with them, including physicians, loved ones, and families.
People in a vegetative state cannot do things that require thought or conscious intention. They cannot speak, follow commands, move their limbs purposefully, or move to avoid a painful stimulus.
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.
During this time, they aren't aware of themselves or the world around them. A state of complete unconsciousness with no eye-opening is called coma. A state of complete unconsciousness with some eye-opening and periods of wakefulness and sleep is called the vegetative state (VS).
Thus some patients can regain awareness after more than four months in a vegetative state, and, although few reach full independence, most can achieve an improved quality of life within the limitations of their disabilities. The recovery period is prolonged and may continue for several years.
Some people recover from a vegetative state, but it is usually not a complete recovery. The brain damage will likely result in permanent disabilities. Recovery is most likely if the cause of the vegetative state is an injury or a reversible condition such as low blood sugar or a drug overdose.
There are only isolated cases of people recovering consciousness after several years. The few people who do regain consciousness after this time often have severe disabilities caused by the damage to their brain.
Unlike a coma, where the patient is completely immobile and unconscious, people in a vegetative state will sleep, wake, and open their eyes — without showing any sign of awareness or consciousness. They don't speak, move on their own, or respond to questions.
It's the nature of the response that determines reflex against awareness. Another key concern is whether a vegetative patient can feel pain. Some people report that the patient shows no signs of pain.
Someone in a vegetative state still has a functioning brain stem, which means: some form of consciousness may exist. breathing unaided is usually possible. there's a slim chance of recovery because the brain stem's core functions may be unaffected.
Patients in vegetative state do not have emotions, because they do not have consciousness.
While each condition has its own symptoms, those in a vegetative state have no awareness of the world around them while patients with locked in syndrome are aware of their surroundings, cognitively intact, and can interact with others using eye motions.
Patients in a vegetative state show no evidence of awareness of self or environment and cannot interact with other people. Purposeful responses to external stimuli are absent, as are language comprehension and expression.
Some examples of early responses to watch for are: Localized response: These are appropriate movements by the patient in response to sound, touch, or sight. Turning toward a sound, pulling away from something uncomfortable, or following movement with the eyes are examples.
Reflex and spontaneous movements are not uncommon during the process of determining brain death. The frequency of such movements ranges from 19.2%–75% among all brain dead cases but the reported frequencies widely vary from one study to another.
When a patient is in a vegetative state, he/she may demonstrate reflexive tearing or oral movements similar to smiling. This means you may see facial expressions without presence of external stimuli.
A person in a persistent vegetative state is unconscious, unaware, and unresponsive. A person can live in this state for years. Brain death, by contrast, is final. Medical technology can keep brain-dead individuals on life support.
The word coma usually refers to the state in which a person appears to be asleep but cannot be awakened. Persistent vegetative state refers to another form of altered consciousness in which the person appears to be awake but does not respond meaningfully to the outside world.
Someone on a ventilator may appear to be breathing, but cannot breathe on their own. While the heart usually stops within 72 hours, it could continue beating for “a week or so,” Varelas said.
There can be many causes of persistent vegetative state, including acute traumatic brain injuries that can occur from falls, car accidents, or assaults. It can also occur as a result of non-traumatic brain injuries, which can involve oxygen deprivation of the brain or a condition that directly attacks brain tissue.
Lack of Oxygen to the Brain Symptoms
Upon regaining consciousness, the effects and symptoms are often similar to that of a traumatic brain injury, depending on severity of the injury. More severe anoxic or hypoxic brain damage may leave the patient in a vegetative state.
Starting in the 18th century, English speakers employed this Aristotelian word in a more metaphoric sense—living a merely physical life, devoid of intellectual activity or social intercourse. From here we get “vegetative state” to describe reduced brain function.
Annie Shapiro (1913–2003) was a Canadian apron shop owner who was in a coma for 29 years because of a massive stroke and suddenly awakened in 1992. Apart from the patients in the true story Awakenings, Shapiro was the longest a person has been in a coma like state and woken up.
Life expectancy in the persistent VS. Early research8 suggested that life expectancy in this condition was 2-5 years, with survival for 10 years being uncommon.
In 1990, 26-year-old Terri Schiavo fell into a persistent vegetative state after suffering cardiac arrest. A fierce highly public battle took place between her parents, Robert and Mary Schindler, and her husband, Michael Schiavo, who wanted to disconnect her feeding tube.