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More about Vegetative State:
Definition Causes and symptoms Diagnosis Treatment Alternative treatment Prognosis Prevention Resources |
The vegetative state can be caused by:
- cardiac arrest
- prolonged and profound hypoglycemia (an abnormal and severe decrease in blood sugar)
- carbon monoxide poisoning
- head injury
- brain hemorrhage
- compression of the brainstem
- tumors
- bilateral hemispheric demyelination (a loss of nerve cells)
- injury of the brain following infections (meningitis or encephalitis)
- neurodegenerative diseases
- anencephaly (an abnormality of the brain and skull)
- diffuse nerve cell injury
Patients in a vegetative state apparently have functioning of a special area in the brain called the reticular activating system (RAS) responsible for sleep-wake cycles. The connections that integrate more complex abilities such as awareness are interrupted. Patients in the vegetative state can open and close eyes spontaneously. They may appear to track or follow objects with their eyes. Patients may chew and swallow food placed in the mouth. The vegetative patient does not respond to sound, hunger, or pain. Patients cannot obey verbal commands and lack local motor responses. Additionally these patients cannot talk in comprehendible terms and they may become noisy, restless, and hypermobility. These patients are in a state or arousal but completely lack awareness.
— Laith Farid Gulli, M.D.
