A 43-year-old Italian who miraculously survived a severe accident, who had been in a coma for 40 days and spent another 4 weeks in a vegetative state, came to his senses thanks to a sedative.
During the four weeks of being in a vegetative state, the man did not show any signs of consciousness, but he did not sleep. Then the victim of the accident was in a state of minimal consciousness for a year. So, the man retained the ability to think, but was unable to move and speak normally.
At some point, the relatives noticed a significant deterioration in the condition of the man, who completely stopped responding to the requests of his relatives to move his hand or close his eyes. Specialists tried to bring the patient to life, using a lot of different means, but nothing helped. Then it was decided to resort to the use of computed tomography.
Before starting the procedure, the doctors gave the man a dose of the sedative midazolam. After that, the patient began to literally "come to life" before our eyes, which shocked even experienced doctors. The reaction to the drug was far from relaxation. The man, on the contrary, began to actively communicate with the doctors and relatives around him, while congratulating his brother on his graduation from the institute by phone.
The accident itself and what happened after it fell out of the man's memory. Two hours later, the effect of the sedative drug ceased, and the patient returned to his previous state. After a few weeks, the doctors again gave the man midazolam, while carefully preparing to observe the patient's behavior by scanning his brain impulses. Thanks to the action of the drug, the man again communicated completely normally and was even able to perform a few simple mathematical calculations. After the drug had expired, the man again lost the ability to move and speak normally. The results of the electroencephalogram indicated that under the influence of midazolam, the activity of brain waves in two parts of the brain is changed.
Doctors believe the man is suffering from a medical disorder called catatonia. This disease is similar to schizophrenia and depression. Experts believe that the use of a sedative drug can be an effective treatment for disorders in which patients are in a state of minimal consciousness.
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