For professionals

Summary

Patients with minimal consciousness are distinguished from coma patients and patients with vegetative state/unresponsive waking syndrome because they show minimal signs of consciousness. In recent years, deep brain stimulation has gained new interest as a technique to improve awareness in these patients. In these patients, brain electrodes are placed in the nuclei of the thalamus that play an important role in the regulation of consciousness.

Early experimental deep brain stimulation studies in patients with severe forms of brain damage and disorders of consciousness are characterized by methodological limitations and limited results. However, a recent case study suggests that deep brain stimulation may play a role in patients with a chronic minimal state of consciousness. Restraint is required for the time being, as class I and II evidence is still lacking and the value of the treatment has yet to be determined on a larger scale.