scifilter

July 4, 2006 6:29 PM

Man comes out of coma (or minimally conscious state) after 20 years. Apparently his brain grew entirely new structures not found in normal brains.
posted by Paris Hilton (28 comments total)

Even though they go to great lengths to make sure people understand that Terry Wallis and his medical problems are not the same as Terri Schiavo, there will be people that will use this story to call people who wanted the feeding tube removed murderers. Even though these two cases are not at all the same.

But how wicked cool for Terry Wallis to have "recovered" and reawoken!
posted by fenriq at 6:59 PM on July 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

fenriq:

See also: People who don't understand that, to scientists, "theory" means something different than what most people think it means.
posted by secret about box at 7:06 PM on July 4, 2006

Interesting... but a quick search reveals this story to be 3 years old! Doesn't sound like new information to me. Also... all other sources say 19 years? sorry to be picky.. but I was suspicious of the blogginess.
posted by sunshinesky at 7:07 PM on July 4, 2006

It would be even cooler if the new structures in his brain gave him powers and he became a super hero. Or something. I would have like more than this:

It is possible that if the damage were restricted solely to the axons and you waited long enough, they would just regrow back to their old targets. This appears to be what happened here.

What is extraordinary about this case is that such widespread rewiring is nearly unheard of. The classical belief is that in the central nervous system (CNS) -- as opposed to the peripheral nervous system (PNS) -- regrowth of axons is suppressed by a signaling pathway that is at least partially known (involving proteins like Nogo and Nogo-R). Under this system regrowth of this nature should not occur. Even more than that, it is remarkable that after the axons started growing they managed to find their original targets. The process of axon pathfinding is complicated and involves many signalling molecules that direct the axons to the right place. It is not what I would have expected that those signals would still be present in the brain of an adult.

on what actually happened in his brain.
posted by Grod at 7:08 PM on July 4, 2006

sunshinesky, he woke up 3 years ago, but the results of the research on his brain changes is what's the 'news' here.
posted by Gyan at 7:09 PM on July 4, 2006

Yes... I saw this on ABC about a year ago. Apparently, he has woken up, but he is suffering from a Memento (sic) syndrome. He cant remember anything that has happened after his accident. Apparently his daignosis is not too good for memory retention.
posted by Debaser626 at 7:11 PM on July 4, 2006

heh, seems I neglected to read the title.. "backgroundto the 20 year coma recovery" .. I'll uh.. shut up now.
posted by sunshinesky at 7:15 PM on July 4, 2006

sunshinesky: The New Scientist article is from yesterday.
posted by puke & cry at 7:19 PM on July 4, 2006 [1 favorite]

I noticed that the first time around... I'm really not too out of touch, really. I swear.
posted by sunshinesky at 7:28 PM on July 4, 2006

We know that neurons in your brain very rarely divide, but under some circumstances axons can regrow -- provide the neuron cell body is intact. It is possible that if the damage were restricted solely to the axons and you waited long enough, they would just regrow back to their old targets. This appears to be what happened here.

What were the "entirely new structures not found in normal brains?" I don't see that in the link.

They had this guy on the TV this weekend. Up until a few months before the filming he was convinced he was still 20 years old. His daughter was a few months old when he went into the coma. When she visits he doesn't believe she is his daughter. She's a bit unfortable that her dad often comes on to her, but she seemed to handle it pretty well.
posted by ?! at 8:05 PM on July 4, 2006

?!, this a New Scientist link says that the new connections were made at the back of the brain connecting the two hemispheres.
posted by Tuwa at 8:15 PM on July 4, 2006

Hey, anyone solved Rubik's cube? How'd we do in the Sarajevo Olympics? I can't wait to catch a Joe Piscopo movie, he must be huge.
"No evidence of awareness of self or environment and an inability to interact with others"
A minimally conscious state sounds almost like a waking dream - coming in and out of coma. Scary. I suspect the "Momento" sort of state would be almost a blessing.
posted by Smedleyman at 8:36 PM on July 4, 2006

What were the "entirely new structures not found in normal brains?"

I can help here. It was a new gyrus that made sense of the entire works of "A Flock of Seagulls".
posted by Turtles all the way down at 8:57 PM on July 4, 2006

the details of the guys experience after waking up are so much more fascinating to me than this dialectical truth political crap.
boo.
posted by Espoo2 at 9:02 PM on July 4, 2006

In 1984, Terry Wallis has a car accident where he was thrown from his pickup. He goes into a coma.

Dude was unconscious my entire life.
posted by Zozo at 9:13 PM on July 4, 2006

Saw him on TV. Yeah, wonderful, great improvement. Still hoping to never be his "new and improved" state.
posted by NortonDC at 9:27 PM on July 4, 2006

Turtles... you've been missed!
posted by shoepal at 11:52 PM on July 4, 2006

How weird would it be to have a daughter who is older than you? (experientially)
posted by BrotherCaine at 1:04 AM on July 5, 2006

Politics aside, imagine how unsettling it would be to be this guy and discovering 20 years has passed. He missed a lot, and to have to deal with stuff like 9/11, the asian tsunamis and a vice president who shoots people in the face... well, it might almost be too much to take in all at once.
posted by Second Account For Making Jokey Comments at 1:21 AM on July 5, 2006

It seems like a bad idea to inundate him with every update at once. At least, hopefully not. It would be pretty creepy just to walk into an electronics store, the last thing I'd want to do is deal with everybody's shit before I get to try out some new toys.

I always thought it would be pretty fun to just be cryogenically frozen for 50-100 years, just to see what stuff will be like without having to watch the gradual progress of each technology. If you consider the progress in 3D graphics in the last 10 years, it would be akin to virtual reality by then, if not better.
posted by Clamwacker at 2:13 AM on July 5, 2006

Lucky for him that the 80's is back in fashion again.
posted by slimepuppy at 3:40 AM on July 5, 2006

Discovery did a show on him a couple of years ago. "The man who slept for 19 years". The doctors preety much gave up on him, but his mother never did. She took him home and propped him in the corner (just kidding), spoke to him and took him places during his lengthy recovery.
posted by Gungho at 4:25 AM on July 5, 2006

I wouldn't touch the guy's hand. I'm sure he can see awful things in my future!
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:35 AM on July 5, 2006

I saw it on television this weekend. His life looks like utter hell. He cannot get up out of bed, he has limited motor functions. He is constantly told he isn't 20, but 40. He's constantly told that the one woman he can't recognize (and even talks dirty to) is his daughter, all grown up. He remembers her as a baby. He didn't seem to understand what had happened, and cannot form new memories. Gee, fantastic!

I agree this is a medical marvel and that much research must be done to figure out why he woke up at all, but it doesn't sound like a very fun life in the slightest.
posted by agregoli at 8:08 AM on July 5, 2006

My son was developmentally delayed in several areas and was in full-time special ed starting at age 3. At an early examination, a doctor asked us when he started to walk and we replied at about one year of age (which is normal). The doctor was surprised because he said that even at that point, my son did not have the reflexes expected from a person who can walk. In several other ways, he appears to be "wired" different from the rest of us.

So I'm not surprised when I hear "his brain grew entirely new structures not found in normal brains." I've seen the same thing in my son.

He is almost 16 now, taking Advanced Placement classes in high school, and plays drums and piano. And his reflexes are still abnormal.
posted by Doohickie at 11:23 AM on July 5, 2006

The movie will star Kevin Bacon.
posted by glider at 12:50 PM on July 5, 2006

posted by spazzm at 4:50 AM on July 6, 2006

Politics aside, imagine how unsettling it would be to be this guy and discovering 20 years has passed. He missed a lot, and to have to deal with stuff like 9/11, the asian tsunamis and a vice president who shoots people in the face... well, it might almost be too much to take in all at once.

there's a short story about exactly that called "The Time Traveller" by Spider Robinson. it's part of the Callahan's storyline. cheers!
posted by carsonb at 1:00 AM on August 4, 2006