ArticleScientific reports2023
Deep brain stimulation in disorders of consciousness: 10 years of a single center experience.
Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 33 citations in OpenAlex.
- An individual patient data meta-analysis on vagal nerve stimulation for recovery from disorders of consciousness.Scientific reports · 2026Pooled it
- Thalamus and consciousness: a systematic review on thalamic nuclei associated with consciousness.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Pooled it
- Awakening the Vagus: Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation-A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Deep Brain Stimulation for Disorders of Consciousness: From Mesocircuit Mechanisms to Circuit-Guided Precision Neuromodulation.Neuroscience bulletin · 2026Review
- Thalamic sonication in chronic disorders of consciousness: a mechanistic single-arm clinical trial.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026Article
- Ethical Considerations in Transcranial Focused Ultrasound Neuromodulation for Disorders of Consciousness.Neuromodulation : journal of the International Neuromodulation Society · 2026Article
- Neuroimaging of Disorder of Consciousness: From Brain Network Mechanisms to Clinical Translation.Journal of clinical neurology (Seoul, Korea) · 2026Review
- Article
- Disorders of consciousness diagnosis, interventions, and prognostication for the intensivist: Report of the 2025 ISICEM roundtable.Intensive care medicine · 2026Review
- Subcortical Hubs of Brain Networks Sustaining Human Consciousness.Human brain mapping · 2025Article
- A human brain network linked to restoration of consciousness after deep brain stimulation.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Neuromodulation with Ultrasound: Hypotheses on the Directionality of Effects and Community Resource.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2025Article
- Thalamic burst and tonic firing selectively indicate patients' consciousness level and recovery.Innovation (Cambridge (Mass.)) · 2025Article
- Central Thalamic Deep Brain Stimulation Modulates Autonomic Nervous System Responsiveness in Disorders of Consciousness.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2025Article
- Deep Brain Stimulation in Pediatric Populations: A Scoping Review of the Clinical Trial Landscape.Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Integrating qualitative and quantitative MRI analysis for optimizing DBS candidate selection in patients with disorders of consciousness.Frontiers in neurology · 2025Article
- Disorders of Consciousness, Language and Communication Following Severe Brain Injury.Psychologica Belgica · 2025Review
- Revolutionizing treatment for disorders of consciousness: a multidisciplinary review of advancements in deep brain stimulation.Military Medical Research · 2024Review
- Return of intracranial beta oscillations and traveling waves with recovery from traumatic brain injury.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Disorders of consciousness (DoC), namely unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS), represent severe conditions with significant consequences for patients and their families. Several studies have reported the regaining of consciousness in such patients using deep brain stimulation (DBS) of subcortical structures or brainstem nuclei. Our study aims to present the 10 years' experience of a single center using DBS as a therapy on a cohort of patients with DoC. Eighty Three consecutive patients were evaluated between 2011 and 2022; entry criteria consisted of neurophysiological and neurological evaluations and neuroimaging examinations. Out of 83, 36 patients were considered candidates for DBS implantation, and 32 patients were implanted: 27 patients had UWS, and five had MCS. The stimulation target was the centromedian-parafascicular complex in the left hemisphere in hypoxic brain lesion or the one better preserved in patients with traumatic brain injury. The level of consciousness was improved in seven patients. Three out of five MCS patients emerged to full awareness, with the ability to interact and communicate. Two of them can live largely independently. Four out of 27 UWS patients showed consciousness improvement with two patients emerging to full awareness, and the other two reaching MCS. In patients with DoC lasting longer than 12 months following traumatic brain injury or 6 months following anoxic-ischemic brain lesion, spontaneous recovery is rare. Thus, DBS of certain thalamic nuclei could be recommended as a treatment option for patients who meet neurological, neurophysiological and neuroimaging criteria, especially in earlier phases, before occurrence of irreversible musculoskeletal changes. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of cooperation between centers worldwide in studies on the potentials of DBS in treating patients with DoC.
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