POSTTRAUMATIC APALLIC SYNDROME FOLLOWING HEAD-INJURY .2. TREATMENT

There is no doubt that vegetative patients need the appropriate medica l and nursing procedures as well as family involvement, education and counselling. Additional structured stimulation programmes are used for the treatment of coma and vegetative state. The theoretical foundatio n is derived from animal studies. The relevance of the results for the rehabilitation of head-injured human patients remains questionable, b ecause all animal studies involve the use of cerebral lesions differen t from those found in human head-injured patients. The studies of huma n sensory stimulation give more an orientation than a definitive state ment. Very recently, hypotheses concerning sensory regulation have beg un to be evaluated. Further investigations are required to provide a m ore definite conclusion.