Vegetative patient: the cerebral cortex function is seriously damaged, the victim is in an irreversible deep coma, loss of conscious activity, but the subcortical center can maintain autonomous respiratory movement and heartbeat, this state is called "vegetative state", the patient in this state is called "vegetable state". This state is called "vegetative state", and patients in this state are called "vegetative person".
Vegetative being is a special state of the human body similar to the state of plant life. In addition to retaining some instinctive nerve reflexes and the ability to carry out the metabolism of material and energy, cognitive ability (including the cognition of their own existence) has been completely lost, without any active activities. Also known as vegetative state and irreversible coma. The brainstem of a vegetative state is still functional, and when nutrients are delivered to the body, they can still be digested and absorbed, and can utilize this energy to maintain the body's metabolism, including respiration, heartbeat, and blood pressure. The external stimuli can also produce some instinctive reflexes, such as coughing, sneezing, yawning and so on. However, the organism no longer has consciousness, perception, thinking and other human-specific higher nervous activities. The electroencephalogram shows stray waveforms. Vegetative state is different from brain death, which refers to the death of the whole brain including the brain stem. In brain death, there is no voluntary respiration and heartbeat, and the EEG shows a straight line.
It is debatable whether to treat a vegetative state by providing a variety of nutrients at a high cost to maintain this state or to abandon the maintenance of their life.
"Vegetative people" can get a new life
Forty-six "vegetative people" in long-term coma due to craniocerebral trauma and neurological function have been successfully treated at Zhujiang Hospital of the First Military Medical University and returned to normal life. Recently, the Institute of Neurology of the hospital's main "craniocerebral trauma neurological damage repair mechanism and clinical treatment" subject, so the state, the army and Guangdong Province as a key research projects.
According to experts, China's annual increase of at least 100,000 new "vegetable". The so-called "vegetative", that is, the patient persists in a vegetative state. The traditional concept that the "vegetable" is equal to the "living dead". In fact, a significant portion of the "vegetable" can be cured.
Professor Xu Ruxiang, director of the institute, said that the hospital was the first in the world to put forward the "nerve reclassification principle" to explain the awakening mechanism of the "vegetative person"; on the basis of comprehensive treatment, based on the combination of traditional Chinese and Western medicines, the hospital adopts the unique awakening of the traditional Chinese medicines, western medicines and hyperbaric oxygen treatment methods to promote the awakening of the vegetative person. On the basis of comprehensive treatment, based on the combination of Chinese and Western medicine, we adopt unique Chinese medicine, Western medicine and hyperbaric oxygen treatment methods for awakening treatment. At present, this technology has been adopted by many hospitals in China. The group has been awarded 5 million RMB from the National Natural Fund, the Army's "Tenth Five-Year Plan" and the Guangdong Province's Major Disease Research Program.