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Brain-Injured Man Speaks After 6 Years

physorg.com — (AP) -- A brain-damaged man who could communicate only with slight eye or thumb movements for six years can speak again, after stimulating electrodes were placed in his brain, researchers report.

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  • RVDsb, on 10/10/2007, -5/+90His first words: "I can has cheezburger?"
    • carguy84, on 10/10/2007, -10/+1No pics, didn't happen.
      • rompom7, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2INCORRECT.

        "pics or it didn't happen."
      • dannyapplesauce, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Maybe the pictures you use are fantastical, but I'm not sure pics could show this guy speaking

        ::dodgy::
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2I can has huge f**kin' medical bill... to ruin my family and make corporate pigz richer!
      • evo8ftw, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0jesus completely ignorant statement

        this is nor the time or the place to be stroking MM pathetic ego

        grow up
    • Dolomite, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6poor son of a bitch. he is a pre-historic ice-man from 2001.
    • XZanatos, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The situation with this guy is that a lot of his brain is still there, but he lost all of his brain CONNECTIONS and he has no way of accessing them along with the rest of his brain to make it work as a whole again. The electrodes excited a part of his brain which he didn't have a way to access through his broken brain.
    • davotoula, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Interesting theory... I would have guessed a simple "HAI!"
  • blorc, on 10/10/2007, -3/+18It's a shame that this has been tested on others before without success. Obviously it warrants more study, but it sounds like it might be more of a hit/miss type of therapy.
    • usherzx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3yeah, kind of like all therapy is hit/miss
  • SmackMyMac, on 10/10/2007, -16/+7"Thumbs up meant vote for Kerry! Kerry!"
  • insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -18/+6"Now, my son can eat, express himself and let us know if he is in pain. He enjoys a qualify of life we never thought possible," she said.
    WTF, just let the man die.
    • mastaphoo, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3by the man you mean yourself, hopefully, you sick animal.
  • johnlandes, on 10/10/2007, -19/+5big deal. Bush hasn't shut up for at least 6 years
    • chilekillr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Shut up.
    • dannyapplesauce, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1There's plenty of political stories that warrant your non sense comments, Go look for them
  • theworldisround, on 10/10/2007, -1/+14Yaaaaaaaaaay SCIENCE!
  • jsleno, on 10/10/2007, -13/+3Amazingly, his first words were...

    "I was wrong about Iraq."
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3I thought he might say "Hey, guys...9-11 was an inside job! "
  • Murloc, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1My first word would be: "*****"
  • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -5/+18FTA "There are no firm statistics on how many Americans are in a minimally conscious state, but one estimate suggests 112,000 to 280,000."

    There are more like 250 million Americans who are minimally conscious!
    (Based on July 2007 est. Population: 301,139,947 )

    • mod84, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2yea i just saw that, dont know why youre getting dug down but thats definitely incorrect
    • schoate09, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6I see what you did there.
    • tont0r, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0You are just filled with all sorts of negative comments today arent you?
  • blackcap, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4Sounds promising. But I wonder if it's actually improved this guy's quality of life or not. In his 'minimally conscious' state, was he aware of how crippled he was and how poor is life was? If not, I'd say that being unaware of such a predicament is actually better than being aware of it. Maybe in this case the treatment has benefited his loved ones more, as they get some of him back, but now he just realizes how terrible his life is.
    • zybch, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8So, what? We should have killed him instead??
    • Dolomite, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3When he see's that medical build... he may wish he had died...
      • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Ah yes...the MEDICAL BILL....exactly my point, in several comments -- that idiots are quickly modding down....to hide the obvious truth.
  • TJATL, on 10/10/2007, -2/+34He said, "Gas costs HOW MUCH?"
    • HairyFotr, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4And they said: it's up to almost half the price it is in Europe.
  • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -10/+3The real tragedy in this case is that it happened under the US health care system.

    So now, for sure, the family will be financially ruined for several generations -- even more so than the rest of the citizens under this crazy corporatist-fascist mis-administration.
    • TJATL, on 10/10/2007, -3/+11Did you wash your hands after you pulled this out of your ass?
    • Dolomite, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1let's just hope that fat slob Micheal Moore has the decency to pay his bill. If the gov't doesn't do it, he should.
    • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Well in other nations with universal health care, they'd have pulled the plug ages ago. There are both sides to this.
      • HairyFotr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Who says that a research budget can't exist in UHC?
  • Ebacherville, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3I bet the guy will go back into a coma if you show him a iPhone.. Imagine the shock.. take it either way you want..

    Imagine being in a coma for say 20 years.. the way technology has changed.. what a wake up... especially the when you see all the people on the bluetooth headsets "talking to them selfs".. you'd think there are tons of nuts running around literally talking to them selfs... That would be a big shock..
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3...or even talking to 'themSELVES' !

      The world would surely look a lot crazier... a world in which nobody could even spell the simplest words any more.
    • indicas, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1i would have dugg the latter part of the comment, but the first part is just .. stupid!
  • elzilcho, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3So there was hope for Terry Schivo!
    • mod84, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4article is about minimally conscious states, not vegetative states/comas
    • SolsPolaris, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9I guess reading comprehension isn't one of your strong points.

      From the article: "He noted that a similar treatment did not help Terri Schiavo, the Florida woman in a vegetative state whose care triggered national controversy before her death in 2005. That's the typical outcome for electrical brain stimulation in vegetative states, he said. "
  • mod84, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4"There are no firm statistics on how many Americans are in a minimally conscious state, but one estimate suggests 112,000 to 280,000."

    so about 1 in 200 americans are in minimally conscious states???
    • theberlindoctor, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7My guess would be closer to 3 out of 4.
    • XZanatos, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3There are about 300 MILLION people in the USA. That means its actually about 1 in 2000. You were off by a BIT
      300,000,000 in the USA
      280,000 in comas of some sort
    • dannyapplesauce, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1This makes relative sense if you have ever commuted to work, or interacted with other humans for that matter.
  • TorstenJochems, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0Is it just me, or is this story reminiscent of Johnny Got his Gun? Apart from the sad ending, they both seem rather similar. That, and this isn't a fictitious story.
  • TorstenJochems, on 10/10/2007, -4/+0Is it just me, or is this story reminiscent of Johnny Got his Gun? Apart from the sad ending, they both seem rather similar. That, and this isn't a fictitious story.
  • demlog, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Actually, a family friend uses a machine to stimulate the nervous/communication system in the body in order to heal people with a range of problems from stroke, to blindness, to broken bones, to failing organs. When my grandma goes for the treatment she comes back remarkably lucid - much easier to hold a conversation with. He takes the theories from accupuncture and instead of using needles uses electric pads. Since the body uses electric signals to stimulate healing or communicate with the body it only makes sense that running current through certain regions would promote healing. He gets his machines in China though cause the muscle massage machines you can get in the US are far from strong enough.
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1it might seem to make sense, for those who don't really understand TCM ( trad. Chinese Medicine)....but it isn't so.
      The true practitioners of the art use needles, but more often use herbs.

      Modern westerners want to cut corners, and try to improve something that is already complete, with new, or patentable ideas and machines. But mostly, adding electricity is not useful. There are rare instances where it can help.
      • demlog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1He also uses herbs for some ailments. Sometimes he uses them in conjunction. I wouldn't discount it based on theories of what is true, or what is art and what isn't. This "practitioner" is from China and this type of treatment is becoming more common.
      • ShrimpCrackers, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You guys do realize that TCM/Traditional Chinese Medicine also kills thousands in Taiwan, and tens of thousands (if not more) in China every year and maims countless others. Most of it is superstition or pure bullcrap.

        Just ask 3 different "TCM "doctors"" what they'd prescribe for a specific ailment and you'll get 3 different answers.
    • Urusai, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Maybe he should get some from Iraq, I hear they are strong enough to make a man confess to anything.
  • TorstenJochems, on 10/10/2007, -2/+17Crap, I'm an idiot. Ignore me.
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2That's about the number one best way to get modded UP!
      Just watch.
  • skyfire1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Praises to modern Science!
  • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6So this guy would actually remember how the world was without DIGG!
    ...Must have sucked!
  • SmackMyMac, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4"Would you kindly remove the probes from my brain? Please and thank you."
  • givemereplay, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2IF ONLY WE COULD HAVE HELD ON TO TERRY SCHIAVO FOR JUST ONE MORE DAY! Just kidding, completely different scenario morons.
  • diggerphelps, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11"They elected who?"

    "Twice?"
  • rot13ubercrypto, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2This is awesome. Regardless of his own particular situation (I am hoping it helps him get "normal" again -- the article doesn't mention whether it was just motor functions or actual consciousness that was damaged), this has amazing implications for people who've experienced brain trauma.

    In college, I clerked for a (completely psychotic) optometry professor who did experiments on cats involving knocking them out, inserting electrodes into the animals' optical nerves, immobilizing their heads (they were kept out cold) and directly beaming images, shapes and colors into their eyes. The idea was to find out exactly what bits and bobs in the brain were responsible for seeing shapes, patterns, movements and colors, in order to create bionic retinal, optical nerve and parts-of-brain-responsible-for-sight replacements for the blind. Same idea. It was a gruesome experiment when you saw it, but I'm amazed and encouraged to see the kind of possibilities technology has for people who otherwise would have been, essentially, bed-ridden vegetables.
    • smartsight, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Could you give some references to this experimental work? I sounds interesting - though gruesome.

      Thanks
  • Cyberen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4"There are no firm statistics on how many Americans are in a minimally conscious state, but one estimate suggests 112,000 to 280,000."

    about 27 percent of the populace from the latest polls.
  • flowaus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6... But Bush has been speaking for a while.
  • chrisdancy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Im inz yourz brains makin u speakz
  • JohnnyXmas, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0"Owww, my brain!"
  • momsshizzle, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Sounds like your typical Linsux user.
  • JohnnyXmas, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"Think about how dumb the *average* person is. Now, realize that half the people out there are dumber than that."

    -George Carlin
  • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1HUHUHUHU....It's like Bush....I bet I'm the first to post this because I'm so creative and original.
  • ManyAsOne, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Judging from the description in the article, it sounds like what the doctors observed as "minimally conscious" was actually "minimally communicative". Not being able to speak or move in ways as to indicate awareness of one's environment, it seems, is not neccessarily the same as not being able to think or be aware.
  • ouralien, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Where was that famous cat all this years ?
  • slapthemonkey, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1coooool........
  • o0lion0o, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0His words? "Mission Accomplished"
  •  

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