After 8 Years Of Brain Damage, This Man Recovered After Taking Sleeping Pills

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - A man who has been unable to speak or move for eight years recovered for 20 minutes from a brain injury after doctors gave him sleeping pills. According to the Cortex medical journal, the man named Richard immediately remembered his father and asked for food when he woke up.

In 2012 Richard suffered severe brain damage after choking on a piece of meat. The incident left him with akinetic mutism, a rare mental condition in which people cannot speak, eat or move, but can still open their eyes.

Now 39, Richard lived with a brain injury for 8 years when his family agreed to try sleeping pills. Doctors have found that sleeping pills can help some patients with brain injury to temporarily regain the ability to speak and move.

According to Cortex, Richard regained consciousness, recognized his family and asked to speak to his father after he was given a dose of Zolpidem. The family has agreed to treatment with Zolpidem, otherwise known as Ambien, after doctors admitted there was little they could do.

Doctor student Willemijn van Erp, from Radboud University in the Netherlands, was involved in Richard's care at a specialized nursing home.

"It is clear that Richard saw and heard us, but because of his brain injury, he was barely able to respond to us," he told Cortex quoted by the NZ Herald, Tuesday, October 20.

Within 20 minutes after the sleeping pills were given, Richard asked the nurse how to operate his wheelchair, asked for his father and said he wanted fast food.

"Because Richard's situation seemed hopeless, my family and I decided to give this drug to Richard," said Van Erp.

Beyond all expectations, Zolpidem had an extraordinary effect.

"After taking sleeping pills, Richard started talking, wanted to call his father, and started getting to know his brothers again. With help, he could even get out of his wheelchair and walk a short distance."

Medical investigations into sleeping pills and their effects on the brain have found that the sedative portion of the drug can help silence unnecessary brain activity. Doctors found parts of Richard's brain had completely died because they were overloaded with sensory activity.

Taking sleeping pills was able to stop the burst of activity for about two hours, allowing Richard to talk to people and walk again. Dr Hisse Arnts at UMC Amsterdam said doctors replicated treatment for several days before the drugs stopped taking effect.

"Richard's brain scans showed excessive activity in certain parts of the brain," Arnts said.

"This over-activity causes noise and somehow turns off the 'good' brain activity. We have found that administering this sleep drug can suppress this unwanted excessive brain activity, creating space for talking and moving."

Doctors repeat the treatment once a day for five days before the effects begin to wear off.

"The window of time in which the patient can speak and move is narrowing, and his ability to move and speak during this time window is decreasing," Arnts told Cortex.

"The use of several doses of Zolpidem for one day does not show improvement in clinical condition and sometimes even causes sedation."

A previous study with sleeping pills and patients with brain injury showed the treatment had a 5 percent success rate. Akinetic mutism is a different condition from coma or paralysis, in that some patients can make a sound or open their eyes.

Researchers continue to seek permanent treatment for patients with brain injuries.