[student456]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1965

"Sleeping pill helped my girl wake up from a SIX year coma





By BETH HALE - Last updated at 22:22pm on 30th October 2007

After her teenage daughter slipped into a coma, Thelma Pickard never lost hope of recovery.


Six years on, the devoted mother is daring to believe her hopes may be answered.

Daughter Amy, now 23, has begun to show signs of life after being given an over-the-counter sleeping pill. Last night Mrs Pickard said the 'old sparkle' returned to her daughter's eyes when she was given a pill and described the change as 'amazing'. "

[JustaGypsy]

Unbelieveable... and awesome, all at once.

[multicollinearity]

I'm trying to figure out what the mechanism of action was in this case (for the zolpidem). Amazing! Thank you for posting this.

[RN-Cardiac]

Zolpidem is Ambien,.NOT "an over-the-counter sleeping pill",.. would like to read more about the "hows and whys" though.

[leslymill]

How totally wonderful. This girl is in the UK. Wonder if Ambien is OTC there.

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

Promising long-term results
of zolpidem treatment for the
permanent vegetative state

Zolpidem is an omega-1-specific indirect
γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist used to
treat insomnia; this drug has also previously
been reported to improve the condition of
patients with brain disorders ranging from the
permanent vegetative state (PVS) to stroke-
induced aphasia. A recent study of patients
categorized to the PVS who were given long-
term treatment with the drug has now also
reported very encouraging results.
The researchers investigated the effects of a
10 mg daily dose of zolpidem in three patients.

Two of the patients were aged 31 years and
had been in PVS for 3 years following motor
vehicle accidents; the third patient was
29 years old and had been in the condition for
5 years after almost drowning. Patients were
scored on the Glasgow Coma Scale and the
Rancho Los Amigos Cognitive Scale before
and 1 h after drug treatment; in each patient,
dramatic improvements on both scales were
recorded after treatment.
At the time of the study report, the patients
had been receiving zolpidem daily for between
3 and 6 years. All patients experienced daily
arousal from their PVS following treatment,
with dramatic improvements in their ability to
interact meaningfully with others. The patients
experienced maximum arousal 1 h after treat-
ment, and the drug’s effects subsided approxi-
mately 4 h later. No long-term adverse effects
were observed.
The authors propose that zolpidem’s mode
of action could involve reactivation of dormant
neurons in injured brain tissue. They suggest
that the drug might have a wide application in
patients with brain injury, and add that further
testing is planned to assess the effects in larger
groups of patients with brain damage.
Original article
Clauss R and Nel W (2006) Drug
induced arousal from the permanent vegetative state NeuroRehabilitation 21:23–28

I was only able to pull this up with a google cache search.


http://www.headway.org.uk/sitePages....=163#Dec06Art1

http://counsellingresource.com/medic...gory/zolpidem/

http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/search

Fascinating.

[multicollinearity]

Originally Posted by RN-Cardiac

Zolpidem is Ambien,.NOT "an over-the-counter sleeping pill",.. would like to read more about the "hows and whys" though.

I hear you. My local newspaper wrote a story about the "MRSA virus" the other day.

[multicollinearity]

Originally Posted by Emmanuel Goldstein

I was only able to pull this up with a google cache search.


http://www.headway.org.uk/sitePages....=163#Dec06Art1

http://counsellingresource.com/medic...gory/zolpidem/

http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/search

Fascinating.

Since the above says the patients were on zolpidem for 3 to 6 years, I wonder if there is an excitable rebound effect after tolerance to the sedative effects is reached? What I mean is something like this - you know how a patient dependent on benzos long-term can have a seizure if they stop taking their benzos suddenly? Well maybe with zolpidem after tolerance has been reached, there is a quick withdrawal effect due to the short half-life - the patient is more arousable and neurologically excitable. This would be similar to the benzo patient who quits and has a seizure. This is fascinating.

[Emmanuel Goldstein]

Originally Posted by multicollinearity

Since the above says the patients were on zolpidem for 3 to 6 years, I wonder if there is an excitable rebound effect after tolerance to the sedative effects is reached? What I mean is something like this - you know how a patient dependent on benzos long-term can have a seizure if they stop taking their benzos suddenly? Well maybe with zolpidem after tolerance has been reached, there is a quick withdrawal effect due to the short half-life - the patient is more arousable and neurologically excitable. This would be similar to the benzo patient who quits and has a seizure. This is fascinating.

I wish I could figure out a better way to search for the research on this; when I do manage to find something, it requires a subscription to access ><

[multicollinearity]

Originally Posted by Emmanuel Goldstein

I wish I could figure out a better way to search for the research on this; when I do manage to find something, it requires a subscription to access ><

Do you have a Medscape subscription? Maybe I'll search that when I have more time, later. For me, all medical searches start at Medscape.com.