Experts in neurology have criticised medical guidelines for the care of unresponsive patients with brain injuriesThousands of people thought to be in a vegetative state are awake and locked in unresponsive bodies, experts in the field say. They criticised guidelines for the care of patients in UK nursing homes and hospitals, saying they fail to recommend using brain scanning technologies to detect consciousness. SponsoredThe Royal College of Physicians has taken an “indefensible” position in its guidance on the care of patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness, according to a neurologist, a neuroscientist and a lawyer-ethicist who set out their objections in the journal Brain. Research studies have shown that using MRI scans or bedside electroencephalogram (EEG) can detect consciousness in some men and women thought to have no awareness of what is going on around them. Techniques include asking them

Source: The Times July 30, 2021 15:22 UTC