Bedside detection of awareness in the vegetative state

Cruse, D., Chennu, S., Chatelle, C., Bekinschtein, T.A., Fernandez-Espejo, D., Pickard, D.J., Laureys, S., Owen, A.M.  

EEG can detect awareness in people previously thought to be in permanently vegetative state

Researchers from The University of Western Ontario have discovered a practical and cost-effective method for assessing whether some patients who appear to be vegetative, may actually be conscious, but simply unable to respond. Their findings were described today in The Lancet, the world’s leading general medical journal.

Despite rigorous clinical assessment, a significant proportion of vegetative state patients are misdiagnosed. Recent studies led by Adrian Owen, a Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Cognitive Neuroscience and Imaging at Western’s Centre for Brain and Mind (CBM), have proved that a significant minority of these patients are consciously aware and, in some cases, can communicate with the outside world using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). 

But while this solution is revolutionary in terms of patient care and facilitation, expense and accessibility preclude the use of fMRI assessment in the majority of vegetative patients.

“Our new method uses electroencephalography (EEG) which is relatively cheap, portable and widely available”, says Damian Cruse, the lead writer on the new study. “This means that we can now go out into the community and visit patients in their residential care homes or hospitals and provide a more accurate diagnosis than was previously possible”.

The new research shows that 19% of a group of patients who were entirely unresponsive and presumed to be vegetative, were actually aware – a figure that exceeds previous estimates of the incidence of ‘covert’ awareness in this group.

“It’s astonishing,” says Owen. “In some of these cases, patients who seemed to be entirely unresponsive to the outside world, were able to signal that they were, in fact, conscious by changing their patterns of brain activity – sometimes hundreds of times ”

Owen and Cruse collaborated with colleagues from the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit in Cambridge, the Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, and the Coma Science Group, University Hospital of Liège on this study.

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/test-detects-awareness-loved-vegetative-state/story?id=14917487#.Trvdb81qw1Y

ABC News

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/bedside-test-finds-awareness-vegetative-brains-14918563#.TrvfS81qw1Y

Adelaide Now

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/brain-monitor-better-than-eeg-test/story-e6frea6u-1226191997033

AFP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iCUOAiC5qeynXdZl9dbTYnD-Oe3g?docId=CNG.4f0c63687383f92d2e2672061cd48532.6e1

BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15668009

Bend Bulletin

http://www.bendbulletin.com/article/20111110/NEWS0107/111100399/

Business World Weekender

http://www.bworldonline.com/weekender/content.php?id=41422

CBC News/health

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2011/11/09/vegetative-eeg-research.html

The Conversation

http://theconversation.edu.au/lights-arent-on-but-is-anyone-home-detecting-awareness-in-coma-patients-4256

CTV.ca

http://m.ctv.ca/topstories/20111109/vegetative-conscious-patients-111109.html

Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2059655/One-vegetative-patients-think-respond.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Dawn.com

http://www.dawn.com/2011/11/10/awareness-detected-in-people-in-vegetative-state.html

Domenica

http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/cultura/2011-11-13/coscienza-sempre-visibile-081441.shtml?uuid=Aatvf6KE

El Mundo

http://www.elmundo.es/elmundosalud/2011/11/10/neurociencia/1320950142.html

Family Practice News

http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/researchers-claim-eeg-detects-awareness-in-vegetative-patients/f1a7b88136.html

Fort Frances Times

http://fftimes.com/node/247013

Fox News

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/11/10/awareness-detected-in-people-in-vegetative-state/

Global News

http://www.globalnews.ca/health/health/6442519041/story.html

Gather.com

http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980748135

The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/nov/10/brain-scanner-hope-patients-vegetative

HealthCanal.com

http://www.healthcanal.com/brain-nerves/23107-Western-unveils-bedside-solution-for-identifying-individuals-wrongly-diagnosed-vegetative-state.html

The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/bedside-device-enables-vegetative-state-patients-to-communicate-6259615.html

io9

http://io9.com/5858093/new-study-suggests-vegetative-people-may-be-conscious-and-aware

KHOU (Houston, Texas)

http://www.khou.com/news/national/133573063.html

Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/237415.php

Medpage Today

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/GeneralNeurology/29559

Montreal Gazette

http://www.montrealgazette.com/health/device+read+minds+people+vegetative+state/5683908/story.html

MyHealthNewsDaily

http://www.myhealthnewsdaily.com/brain-waves-eeg-vegetative-state--2107/

National Right to Life News

http://www.nationalrighttolifenews.org/news/2011/11/lancet-study-provides-more-evidence-that-patients-in-so-called-“persistent-vegetative-state”-may-be-consciously-aware/

Nature

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/11/eeg_used_to_detect_awareness_i.html

New Scientist

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21150-eeg-finds-consciousness-in-people-in-vegetative-state.html

News Tonight

http://newstonight.net/content/eeg-new-hope-vegetative-patients

Newser

http://www.newser.com/story/132998/awareness-detected-in-vegetative-patients.html?utm_medium=goognews&utm_campaign=chan3_feed

NewsMax Health

http://www.newsmaxhealth.com/health_stories/Scan_Contact_Vegetative_/2011/11/10/416633.html

Newstrack India

http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/249591

NY Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/health/research/brain-exam-detects-awareness-in-3-vegetative-patients.html

PhysOrg.com

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-eeg-awareness-people-previously-thought.html

Press Association

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5hiTxwkpBu5uxATCbTlbq6pUnY0cw?docId=N0554281320845899179A

Regina Leader Post

http://www.leaderpost.com/health/device+read+minds+people+vegetative+state/5683908/story.html

Salt Lake Tribune

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/52881922-68/patients-vegetative-awareness-eeg.html.csp

SmartPlanet.com

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/science-scope/scanner-finds-some-8216brain-dead-patients-are-aware/11304

The Star Phoenix

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/device+read+minds+people+vegetative+state/5683908/story.html?cid=megadrop_story

Telegraph UK

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8879690/Conversations-possible-with-vegetative-state-patients.html

Time

http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/11/picking-up-brain-activity-and-conciousness-in-vegetative-patients/

TG Daily

http://www.tgdaily.com/health-features/59562-eeg-allows-communication-with-patients-in-vegetative-state

TopNews United States

http://topnews.us/content/244668-brain-damaged-patients-capable-communicating-say-researchers

The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1084359--eegs-give-voice-to-brain-injured-patients-researchers-find?bn=1

Toronto Sun

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/11/09/brain-injury-breakthrough-in-london-ont

U.S. News & World Report

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2011/11/10/brain-study-suggests-some-vegetative-patients-are-aware

Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/new-technique-spots-patients-misdiagnosed-as-being-in-vegetative-state/2011/11/08/gIQAL8zN6M_story.html

Winnipeg Free Press

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/sci_tech/eeg-detects-awareness-in-vegetative-patients-can-be-taken-to-bedside-study-133573243.html

Xinhua

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2011-11/10/c_131238879.htm

NOVEMBER 10th, 2011

Full details of this STUDY, including photos, videos and interviews, can be found at our dedicATED microsite here.

MEDIA PLEASE contact Jeffrey Renaud, Senior Media Relations Officer, The University of Western Ontario. T) +1 519-661-2111 ext. 85165 /

+1 519-520-7281. email: jrenaud9@uwo.ca

You can download a preprint of the entire paper from here, or see the final copy at The Lancet

Full details of this STUDY, including photos, videos and interviews, can be found at our dedicATED microsite here.

MEDIA PLEASE contact Jeffrey Renaud, Senior Media Relations Officer, The University of Western Ontario. T) +1 519-661-2111 ext. 85165 /

+1 519-520-7281. email: jrenaud9@uwo.ca

You can download a preprint of the entire paper from here, or see the final copy at The Lancet

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