Method may help head injury victims

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, October 15, 2006

Doctors Sunday reported the first evidence that electrical brain stimulation may help head trauma victims stuck in a state of semi-consciousness, apparently restoring some abilities of one patient to function and communicate.

Although the technique has only been tried on one patient, the experiment marks an unprecedented step that could lead to a new way to try to coax thousands of patients mired in similar states back towards more awareness, enabling them to function more and interact better with their families and others.

In a presentation Sunday at a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in Atlanta, the researchers said the case involved a 38-year-old man who suffered a severe brain injury that left him in a minimally conscious state for six years, unable to communicate or function in any consistent way. Brain scans, however, showed that many parts of his brain were still working.

After a four-month evaluation to assess his capabilities, the researchers implanted electrodes into parts of his brain known as the thalamus believed to be involved in helping integrate the functions of other areas.

For the first six weeks after the procedure, before any stimulation began, the man’s condition did not improve.

For the next five months, the researchers carefully calibrated how much to stimulate his brain. Then, during a six-month trial period, the activation was turned on and off without those evaluating him knowing when it was on and when it was off.

The results of that test found significant improvement in his ability to move, communicate and function, including the ability to eat and respond verbally. While the researchers refused to elaborate on the man’s improvement until their findings are published, they also reported that even when the stimulation is off the patient continues to demonstrate improved “gestural and verbal communication abilities,” which suggests the stimulation may be having lasting effects on his brain.

“These findings provide the first evidence that (deep-brain stimulation) can promote significant late functional recovery from severe traumatic brain injury,” the researchers wrote in their presentation.