Annals of neurology
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Annals of neurology · May 2016
Prediction of awakening from hypothermic post anoxic coma based on auditory discrimination.
Most of the available clinical tests for prognosis of postanoxic coma are informative of poor outcome. Previous work has shown that an improvement in auditory discrimination over the first days of coma is predictive of awakening. Here, we aimed at evaluating this test on a large cohort of patients undergoing therapeutic hypothermia and at investigating its added value on existing clinical measures. ⋯ The progression of auditory discrimination from hypothermia to normothermia has a high predictive value for awakening. This quantitative measure provides an added value to existing clinical tests and encourages the maintenance of life support. Ann Neurol 2016;79:748-757.
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Annals of neurology · May 2016
Multimodal study of default-mode network integrity in disorders of consciousness.
Understanding residual brain function in disorders of consciousness poses extraordinary challenges, and imaging examinations are needed to complement clinical assessment. The default-mode network (DMN) is known to be dysfunctional, although correlation with level of consciousness remains controversial. We investigated DMN activity with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI), alongside its structural and metabolic integrity, aiming to elucidate the corresponding associations with clinical assessment. ⋯ rs-fMRI of the DMN is sensitive to clinical severity. The effect is consistent across data analysis approaches, but heavily dependent on head movement. rs-fMRI could be informative in detecting residual DMN activity for those patients who remain relatively still during scanning and whose diagnosis is uncertain. Ann Neurol 2016;79:841-853.