SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Valium Snaps Vegetative State

An accident victim who has been in a vegetative state for seven years underwent a “total transformation” and began speaking to doctors when he was given Valium before a dental procedure, a doctor said.

Dr. Andres Kanner, a neurologist who specializes in epilepsy cases, said last week that the Wisconsin man suddenly emerged from his vegetative state about two weeks ago when he was given an intravenous injection of the drug.

“He started interacting in a reasonable manner, a total transformation,” said Kanner, a doctor at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison.

Kanner said that the man is able to say his name, read and write.

“At this point we don’t know the reason for this phenomenon,” Kanner said.

The patient, who is in his mid-40s but was not identified at the request of his family, was injured in a car accident about 10 years ago. He was in a coma for about three months but was able to communicate with those around him when he first regained consciousness.

His condition deteriorated in the next two years and Kanner said he lapsed into a vegetative state in which he seldom responded to people or his environment, rarely saying a word.

“He wasn’t in a coma,” Kanner said. “He was in a vegetative-like state in which a patient is unresponsive to people around him. He was hardly talking at all and not following commands . . . just lying in bed and not participating in a purposeful manner.”

The patient began interacting with doctors and others in a reasonable manner for a short period of time, Kanner said. The man lapsed back into the vegetative state when the Valium wore off.