A new study suggests that brain scans could help identify comatose patients who have the potential to wake up, reports [s]Health24[/s]. Bedside tests are currently the standard means of trying to assess whether or not a comatose person will make some form of recovery. But up to 40% of patients may be misdiagnosed using these methods. The research suggests that PET scans can detect neurological processes ‘that aren’t visible through traditional bedside tests,’ lead researcher Steven Laureys, of the [b]University of Liege[/b], said in [s]The Lancet[/s]. He added that the scan might be a valuable addition to standard behavioural tests ‘to identify unresponsive or “vegetative” patients who have the potential for long-term recovery’.
[link url=http://www.health24.com/Mental-Health/Brain/News/Brain-scans-can-spot-potential-for-coma-recovery-20140416]Full Health24 report[/link]
[link url=http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60042-8/abstract]Lancet abstract[/link]