Emergence from protracted unconsciousness due to severe diffuse axonal brain injury: clinical observation and literature review

Abstract

The paper gives data available in the literature on the variants of unconsciousness, bases of their development, and modes of correction. The authors analyze their observation of consciousness recovery after protracted unconsciousness (for about 6 months) during neuromodulation therapy and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in a patient with severe traumatic and, probably, concominant hypoxic brain injury. Over time (within 2 years), they traced neurological and psychic changes, evaluated structural damages by Tl-, T2-weighted, FLAIR, and DTI magnetic resonance imaging, by constructing corticospinal tracts, and cerebral blood flow (computed tomography perfusion), and plasma catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine). The case in question is clinical, instrumental, and laboratory evidence for the efficiency of use of not only direct stimulants of dopaminergic transmission, but also drugs with indirect dopaminergic activity, as well as rTMS for emergence from protracted akinetic mutism in the presence of akinetic-rigid syndrome.

Keywords

• brain injury
• diffuse axonal injury
• unconsciousness
• transcranial magnetic stimulation
• neuromediators
• neuromodulation therapy