Prince Al-Waleed Dies, Why Can Someone Come For Decades?

JAKARTA - Arab Prince Al-Waleed bin Khaled bin Talal Al Saud, better known as the "sleep Prince", died at the age of 36. Prince of Saudi Arabia has passed 20 years in a coma.

Prince Al-Waleed fell into a coma after a car accident in 2005. At that time, the prince who was called Dede by his family and was 15 years old. In addition, Prince is also studying at a military college in London.

So why have cases like Al-Waleed been in a coma for years?

Reporting from the Brain Foundation page, a coma is an unconscious condition where a person does not react to the surrounding environment. People who are in an unconscious coma and brain activity are minimal.

They cannot be awakened with physical or voice stimulation. Even though they live, they cannot be awakened and show no signs of awareness.

The eyes of a coma will be closed and appear non-responsive to the environment. They usually do not react to sound or pain, and cannot communicate or move on purpose.

In addition, coma people do not respond to normal pain, light, or sound stimuli, do not have a normal sleep-building cycle, and do not initiate voluntary action. They cannot feel, speak, hear, or move consciously.

A coma also has basic reflexs such as coughing and swallowing which are greatly reduced. They may be able to breathe on their own, although some people need breathing apparatus.

Over time, a person may gradually recover consciousness and become more aware. Some people will wake up after a few weeks, while others may enter into a vegetative or minimal conscious condition.

Patients can show a wide range of levels of non-awareness and inresponsiveness, depending on which brain area is damaged and how much or least part of the brain is functioning.

Coma can occur for several reasons, such as:

- Poisoning: For example drug abuse, overdose, or wrong drug use.

- Metabolic Disorders: Disorders in the body's chemical processes.

- Central nervous system disease: A disease that affects the brain and spinal cord.

- Acute neurological injury: For example stroke, brain hernia, lack of oxygen (hypoxia), or low body temperature (hypofermia).

- Traumatized injuries: Caused by a crash or a vehicle accident, etc.

In some cases, coma may be intentionally induced using drugs to protect higher brain function after brain injury, or to save patients from extreme pain during injury or disease healing. All these factors will affect the course of treatment and recovery.

Koma could last from a few days to weeks, while some severe cases could last years. Recovery relies heavily on the initial cause of the coma and the severity of brain damage.

The chances of someone recovering from a coma depend heavily on the severity and cause of brain injury, their age, and how long they have been in a coma. It is impossible to predict accurately whether the person will eventually recover, how long the coma will last, and whether they will have long-term problems.