‘The Waking Pill’
The Daily Mail reports on a new BBC documentary that is due to air tomorrow about the stunning success of Zolpidem (Ambien) in treating people who are in a persistent vegetative state. (I first posted about this here.) People who have not responded to anything in years are waking up out of comas after being given Zolpidem, a sleeping pill.
A woman who has been in a coma for the past six years is slowly coming back to life after being given sleeping pills.
Amy Pickard, from Hastings in East Sussex, was only 17 when she slipped into a coma in 2001.
However now, after being given over-the-counter miracle pill Zolpidem, her devoted mum Thelma says the "old sparkle" has returned to her daughter's eyes.
Amy, who is the subject of BBC One documentary 'The Waking Pill' tomorrow night, has been in a persistent vegetative state for the past six years after suffering severe brain damage after experimenting with heroin.
Until last month she remained lifeless in bed.
But now, barely four weeks after taking her first pill Amy, now 23, from Hastings in East Sussex, is slowly starting to come back to life.
Speaking today, Thelma, 54, said: "She is changing and it is amazing.
"When she takes the pill, I see her face relax and the old sparkle return to her eyes. It's incredible."
Amy is one of 360 people taking part in a worldwide revolutionary drugs trial which could see coma patients "miraculously" come back to life.
Zolpidem has been tried on about 360 people worldwide so far. 60% respond to the drug, to varying degrees. But that is still a miracle for these people. I'd only caution that L-DOPA made patients suffering from Encephalitis lethargica wake briefly before they fell back into their comas. It is still an amazing discovery and has huge potential.
Medicine, World news | Gaius October 30, 2007
By quilly mammoth, October 30, 2007 @ 8:17 am
off topic:
I see you have put up a picture of Nancy Pelosi flying home for the weekend on your masthead.
By Gaius, October 30, 2007 @ 8:40 am
Heh
By feeblemind, October 30, 2007 @ 10:28 am
I stumbled across an interesting article on fusion reactors at The Oil Drum. A lot of it is over my head, but I thought you might be interested. http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2806
By NortonPete, October 30, 2007 @ 11:38 am
Great post. Whenever I read something like this which involves a unexpected reaction from an seemly unrelated action, I wonder how was this first discovered? Why would someone give a person in a coma a sleeping pill? I’m happy for those who respond but I still wonder about how this was discovered.
By Gaius, October 30, 2007 @ 11:46 am
It was by accident. Nurses saw a comatose patient fidgeting with his blanket and thought the pill might let him sleep. Instead he sat up.
By Akinetic Mutism, October 31, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
NEJM
Zolpidem in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy:
Transient Improvement of Aphasia with Zolpidem:
Transient Improvement of Spinocerebellar Ataxia with Zolpidem:
Ann Neurol, July 1, 2007; 62(1): 102-5
Clinical and imaging evidence of zolpidem effect in hypoxic encephalopathy
Another “Awakenings”.
Ann Neurol. 2007 Jul;62(1):5-7. No abstract available.
PMID: 17514746 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Man, I need to sleep, or wake up, or something, could you hand me some Ambien?
By colin, November 5, 2007 @ 7:54 am
hi there, my mother suffered a major stroke last year and has severe brain injury. she is 71 years young and needs 24 hour care, her condition is deteriorating and she is going deeper into herself mentally and physically although we believe she knows most of what is going on.
We have started trialing Zolpidem on a daily basis since last saturday and it is not making her sleep in fact she is more awake / alert than normal albeit slight.
Can anyone advise how long we can try this for ? are there dangerous side effects ? are there any doctors who have extensive experience that i can talk to ?
we are located in Dublin Ireland.
Regards,
Colin
By Gaius, November 5, 2007 @ 7:59 am
Colin,
Are you doing this under the guidance of a physician?