ambien study for patients in a coma

[bubblejet50]

when i was a cna i worked at a facility for traumatic brain injuries. it was sub-acute long term care. while i was there i was exposed to the "ambien study." this is where the drug was given to patients in a coma that was persistent and it was supposed to temporarily reverse the coma. our sister facility had the effects of one resident that this was effective on on tape. our patients would sometimes say a familiar word to family when they were otherwise nonverbal. has anyone heard anything more about this study? when i got my lpn license in 2011 i no longer could work at that facility as there were no nurse openings and i wonder why this study really hasn't been heard of much. i think it's interesting how a sleep aid can reverse a coma even if just temporarily.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Sounds interesting. There a many good, effective, and promising drug studies out there that we never hear about. It often takes word of mouth while it is underway. Once done the results are published, and sometimes the results are game changers.

[SuzieeQ]

Neat... Never heard of this study.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

I remember this study. A friend who is a ECF DON approached one of the physicians about trying this with a younger traumatic brain injury patient - but it had no effect on him. If I recall, it had to be trialed within a couple years of the original injury.

Hmmm...... may have to research this a bit.

Edit: I did find this>> http://www.inspire.com/groups/brain-and-nervous-system/discussion/ambien-study-1/

[tokebi]

I remember reading about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/magazine/can-ambien-wake-minimally-conscious.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

This year, scientists at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute and at the University of Pennsylvania, both in the Philadelphia area, began the first large-scale clinical study of zolpidem as a treatment for disorders of consciousness. (Amantadine, a drug used to treat Parkinson’s disease, and the anti-anxiety medication Ativan also show promise in increasing awareness in minimally conscious patients.) So far, the evidence suggests that less than 10 percent of brain-injured patients will experience the drug’s paradoxical effects, and that among those, only a few will respond as profoundly as Viljoen did. For families like the Coxes, such odds provide a tortured kind of hope. For doctors, they bring questions. Why does a sleeping pill induce awareness in some patients but not others? And what can these bizarre awakenings tell us about the brain’s ability to heal?

[forbidden2know]

I cried when I read this post, my heart goes out to the parents of this young man.