".....Each of the three patients studied was given the drug every morning. An improvement was seen within 20 minutes of taking the drug and wore off after four hours, when the patients restored to their permanent vegetative state.
Patient L had been in a vegetative state for three years, showing no response to touch and no reaction to his family. After he was given Zolpidem, he was able to talk to them, answering simple questions....
Dr Ralf Clauss, ... carried out the study...He told the BBC: "For every damaged area of the brain, there is a dormant area, which seems to be a sort of protective mechanism. "The damaged tissue is dead, there's nothing you can do. "But it's the dormant areas which 'wake up'."
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The Key Passage is this one:
Mike Barnes, professor of neurological rehabilitation at the Hunters Moor centre in Newcastle, said it was possible that the patients had not had "true" PVS.
"A diagnosis of PVS means the patient should not wake up and respond."
He said a study carried out by specialists 10 years ago had shown that up to 45% of patients diagnosed with PVS actually had a range of different conditions, from which they could wake up.
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