In 2005 Elliott et al. published a paper entitled 'Effect of posture on levels of arousal and awareness in vegetative and minimally conscious patients: a preliminary investigation'. Twelve patients, of whom 5 were in the vegetative state (VS) and 7 in the minimally conscious state (MCS), were assessed with the Wessex Head Injury Matrix (WHIM) when supine and when upright on a tilt table. The present study replicated and extended these findings by including a third position, sitting, in addition to supine and standing. We assessed 16 patients (8 in the VS and 8 in the MCS) with mixed aetiologies and compared the observed behaviours in three different positions (supine, sitting and standing) using the WHIM. Most patients (75%) showed more behaviours when in the upright position, compared to lying down (p < .003). Our findings are similar to those seen in the study reported by Elliott et al. With regard to sitting, 62.5% of patients were more responsive when assessed sitting in a wheelchair (p < .05) than in a supine position, and almost 69% were more responsive if assessed in an upright position compared to sitting. This was particularly true for patients in the MCS, where 87.5% did better if assessed on a tilt table or standing frame compared to sitting, suggesting that positional changes can have an effect on the level of arousal and awareness among patients in the VS and MCS.sciousness and Bruno, Vanhaudenhuyse, Thibaut, Moonen and Laureys (2011) argue that better assessment of patients with disorders of consciousness can improve medical care, diagnosis and prognosis. One of the tools developed to assess recovery from serious TBI is the Wessex Head Injury

Although LIS patients have no severe cognitive deficits, some cognitive difficulties are common. Despite severe physical and communication problems and some mild cognitive deficits on visual reasoning tasks, this patient feels she has a reasonable quality-of-life.

This study shows that continuing recovery to a level of moderate disability is possible, even after a prolonged disorder of consciousness. Intense multi-disciplinary long-term rehabilitation and cranioplasty may be contributing factors for such an unexpected recovery.

The findings suggest the importance of serial WHIM assessments throughout the period of recovery, not only to measure cognitive changes but also to highlight underlying physical changes such as infections that will impact the response to rehabilitation and recovery.

We describe the rare condition known as Alexander's disease or Alexander's leukodystrophy, which is essentially a childhood dementia. We then present the case of Louise Davies (we are using Louise's real name with the permission and special request of her mother), a woman who was diagnosed with this disease at the age of 5 years and is still alive at the age of 38, making her the longest known survivor of this condition. Although now severely impaired, both physically and mentally, and able to do very little, she has lived far longer than expected. We present some neuropsychological results from her childhood before measuring her decline over the past four years. We conclude by considering whether or not the diagnosis was correct and why she has lived so long.