By: Hannah Devlin Science correspondent |
Nerve implant ‘restores consciousness’ to man in persistant vegetative state
| Neuroscience | The Guardian
Stimulation of the vagus nerve allows patient who had been in a persistant vegetative state for 15 years to track objects with his eyes and respond to simple requests
A 35-year-old man who had been in a persistant vegetative state (PVS) for 15 years has shown signs of consciousness after receiving a pioneering therapy involving nerve stimulation.
The treatment challenges a widely-accepted view that there is no prospect of a patient recovering consciousness if they have been in PVS for longer than 12 months.
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