'On-off' switch can help coma patients come to life

Do you know there is an 'on-off' switch in our brain that controls consciousness? Scientists have found one that can help coma patients regain consciousness. Researchers at George Washington University made an epileptic patient go to sleep by applying an electrical impulse in a specific brain region. After they stopped the stimulation, the patient came out of coma and had no memory of what had just happened.

'It is like the ignition of a car when turning a key can bring all the other components of the car to life,' Mohamad Koubeissi from George Washington University was quoted as saying. The effect was produced by stimulating the patient's claustrum - a thin sheet of neutrons at the lower part of the central brain. Once stimulation of the claustrum stopped, the patient regained consciousness. Koubeissi found that low-frequency stimulation reduced epileptic seizures in patients by 92 percent without impairing memory. The discovery of the switch could be very useful in certain areas of medicine, said the study reported by New Scientist.

Here are some facts about coma

Fact#1: A coma is not a persistent vegetative state

A coma is a state where a person is alive but cannot respond to external stimuli. A persistent vegetative state, which usually follows a coma is one where the person is not aware about their surroundings and has lost all cognitive and neurological function. In both these cases the person has basic functions active like breathing and circulation.

Fact#2: Coma can be caused by more than just trauma

A person may go into a coma due to many reasons like a severe brain trauma (like head injuries), swelling of the brain, bleeding within the brain, stroke, blood sugar fluctuations (also known as hyperglycaemia or hypoglycaemia), infections, oxygen deprivation, seizures and due to some toxins. In certain cases, a coma may be chemically induced to help a patient's body heal completely after a severe trauma. (Read: Hrithik Roshan brain surgery: What is chronic subdural haematoma?)

Fact#3: The outcome or prognosis depends on the type of coma

The type of coma can be divided into five categories based on the type of injury sustained and the level of consciousness the person exhibits. When the coma is caused due to an infection or the build-up of some toxins in the body it is usually termed as toxic-metabolic encephalopathy and in most cases this type of coma can be reversed if the causative factor is rectified. An anoxic brain injury is where the brain does not get enough oxygen. Here, the cells die leading to the person going into a coma. This may occur in patients who suffer a heart attack, stroke, asphyxiation, drug overdose or poisoning. A person may slip into a persistent vegetative state, where he/she is unresponsive but will have breathing, circulation and a sleep-wake cycle (where the non-cognitive functions remain intact). A rare type of coma is known as the locked-in syndrome, where the person is completely paralyzed, except for his/her eye muscles. The person is aware of his or her surroundings and can move his/her eyes, but cannot perform any functions. And the last type is known as brain death where the brain dies and there is no noticeable brain function. This is usually the result of a severe head injury. (Read: Emergencies in diabetes do you know enough? (expert speak))

Fact #4: Being in a coma does not mean being completely unresponsive

Patients in a coma are not always unresponsive, some can move their eyes, can breathe on their own and many may even open and close their eyes in response to some stimuli. So the scene of a patient lying absolutely still in a hospital bed might not be the most accurate description. Read more about Coma get your facts right!

With inputs from IANS

For more articles on diseases & conditions , visit our diseases & conditions section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.