Persistent Vegetative State: A persistent vegetative state, which sometimes follows a coma, refers to a condition in which individuals have lost cognitive neurological function and ... more about Persistent Vegetative State.
Persistent Vegetative State: Physically alive with basic mental function but without high mental capacity. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Persistent Vegetative State is available below.
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Prognosis for Persistent Vegetative State: The outcome for coma and vegetative state depends on the cause and on the location, severity, and extent of neurological damage: outcomes range from recovery to death. People may emerge from a coma with a combination of physical, intellectual, and psychological difficulties that need special attention. Recovery usually occurs gradually, with patients acquiring more and more ability to respond. Some patients never progress beyond very basic responses, but many recover full awareness. Patients recovering from coma require close medical supervision. A coma rarely lasts more than 2 to 4 weeks. Some patients may regain a degree of awareness after vegetative state. Others may remain in a vegetative state for years or even decades. The most common cause of death for a person in a vegetative state is infection such as pneumonia. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Coma Information Page: NINDS)
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A persistent vegetative state, which sometimes follows a coma, refers to a condition in which individuals have lost cognitive neurological function and awareness of the environment but retain noncognitive function and a perserved sleep-wake cycle. It is sometimes described as when a person is technically alive, but his/her brain is dead. However, that description is not completely accurate. (Source: excerpt from NINDS Coma Information Page: NINDS)
A state of prolonged irreversible cessation of all brain activity, including lower brain stem function with the complete absence of voluntary movements, responses to stimuli, brain stem reflexes, and spontaneous respirations. Reversible conditions which mimic this clinical state (e.g., sedative overdose, hypothermia, etc.) are excluded prior to making the determination of brain death. (From Adams et al., Principles of Neurology, 6th ed, pp348-9) - (Source - Diseases Database)
Persistent Vegetative State is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of
Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). This means that Persistent Vegetative State, or a subtype of Persistent Vegetative State,
affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)
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