Electrical stimulation of the right median nerve may hasten the awakening of closed head injured, comatose patients. A series of 25 comatose patients have been treated. These patients made better recoveries than similar individuals reported in the literature. In a double-blind pilot project patients in the treated group scored better on interval Glasgow Coma Scale scores, spent fewer days in the intensive care unit, and showed better Glasgow Outcome Scores at 1 month post-injury. Peripheral electrical stimulation of the right median nerve, through activation of the ascending reticular activating system, may be sufficient to arouse the moderate to severely comatose patient.

The right median nerve as a peripheral portal to the central nervous system can be electrically stimulated to help coma arousal after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The present study set out to examine the efficacy and safety of right median nerve electrical stimulation (RMNS) in a cohort of 437 comatose patients after severe TBI from August 2005 to December 2011. The patients were enrolled 2 weeks after their injury and assigned to the RMNS group (n=221) receiving electrical stimulation for 2 weeks or the control group (n = 216) treated by standard management according to the date of birth in the month. The baseline data were similar. After the 2-week treatment, the RMNS-treated patients demonstrated a more rapid increase of the mean Glasgow Coma Score, although statistical significance was not reached (8.43 ± 4.98 vs. 7.47 ± 5.37, p = 0.0532). The follow-up data at 6-month post-injury showed a significantly higher proportion of patients who regained consciousness (59.8% vs. 46.2%, p = 0.0073). There was a lower proportion of vegetative persons in the RMNS group than in the control group (17.6% vs. 22.0%, p = 0.0012). For persons regaining consciousness, the functional independence measurement (FIM) score was higher among the RMNS group patients (91.45 ± 8.65 vs. 76.23 ± 11.02, p < 0.001). There were no unique complications associated with the RMNS treatment. The current study, although with some limitations, showed that RMNS may serve as an easy, effective, and noninvasive technique to promote the recovery of traumatic coma in the early phase.

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SynopsisNovel poly(enonsu1fides) were prepared with inherent viscosities as high as 1.35 dL/g by nucleophilic addition of various aromatic dithiols to 1,l'-(1,3-or 1,4-phenylene)bis(3-phenyl-2-propyn-1-one) in m-cresol at 25-40°C. A tough clear yellow film with a tensile strength of 11,300 psi and a tensile modulus of 466,000 psi at 25°C was cast from a chloroform solution of the polymer prepared from 1,3-dithiobenzene and l,l'-(1,4-phenylene)bis(3-phenyl-2-propy-l-one). The poly(enonsu1fides) exhibited Tg's as high as 180°C and weight losses of approximately 10% at 331°C in air. The synthesis and characterization of several poly(enonsu1fides) are discussed.