Diagnosis and Prognosis in Disorders of Consciousness

Dear Colleagues,

Disorders of consciousness (DoCs) result from pathologies capable of interfering with or abolishing the capacity to be awake and aware. DoCs break down into: (1) unresponsive waking state, in which the eyes are open, but there is no evidence of voluntary responses; and (2) minimal consciousness state, an intermediate state in which minimal, inconstant but clearly visible signs of responsiveness are present. In the previous two decades, more and more evidence has been provided to support diagnostic decisions in DoCs, but it remains insufficient given the complexity and the ethical weight of the issue.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide an overview of this lively field of research by collecting contributions covering various aspects related to this topic, starting from the main question of consciousness diagnosis that can be investigated through low-cost  and  easy-to-implement measures of consciousness (e.g., identification of clinical or neurophysiological bedside markers, validation of clinical scales), or by the use of more sophisticated instrumental techniques (e.g., high-density EEG, PET, and fMRI). Multimodal approaches validated by multicenter studies will be considered with more emphasis. Contributions may also be related to other factors that might interfere with prognosis from observational studies (e.g., the impact of genetics and neurofilaments, complications and comorbidities including paroxysmal sympathetic hyperactivity, spasticity, respiratory insufficiency, infections, deep venous thrombosis, and pressure ulcers) down to clinical trials and applications (e.g., the use of activating drugs, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and deep brain stimulation). Submissions on neurorehabilitation pathways and the use of innovative rehabilitation strategies (e.g., robotics, telerehabilitation, music therapy, acupuncture) for patients with DoCs will also be appreciated. Finally, reviews or papers concerning the ethical implications of the treatment of patients with DoCs (e.g., medical management, discontinuation of treatment in the acute phase, disclosure of results to patients’ families, and end-of-life decisions) will be considered.

Dr. Bahia Hakiki
Dr. Maenia Scarpino
Guest Editors

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• coma
• disorders of consciousness
• minimally consciousness state
• vegetative state
• diagnosis and prognosis
• genetic biomarkers and neurofilaments
• multimodal assessment
• EEG
• event-related potential
• evoked potentials
• resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging
• positron emission tomography
• ethics
• neurorehabilitation
• transcranial magnetic stimulation
• transcranial direct current stimulation
• deep brain stimulation