Vegetative State
Causes of disorders of consciousness
Source: NHS
In this topic (3)
Disorders of consciousness can occur if the parts of the brain responsible for consciousness are injured or damaged.
The main causes can generally be divided into:
- traumatic brain injury
- non-traumatic brain injury
- progressive brain damage
Common examples of these types of brain damage are outlined below.
Traumatic brain injury
Traumatic brain injury occurs when an object or outside force causes severe trauma to the brain. This is most often caused by:
- falls
- traffic accidents
- violent assault
See Head injury, severe for more information.
Non-traumatic brain injury
Non-traumatic brain damage is usually caused by a health condition, such as:
- a condition that deprives the brain of oxygen without a continuous supply of oxygen, brain tissue begins to die
- a condition that directly attacks brain tissue
Specific causes of non-traumatic brain injury include:
- strokes
- heart attacks
- severe brain infectionssuch as meningitis (an infection of the outer layer of the brain) or encephalitis (an infection of the brain itself)
- drug overdoses
- poisoning
- almost drowning or other types of suffocation, such as smoke inhalation
- a blood vessel bursting, leading to bleeding inside the brain the medical term for this is a ruptured aneurysm
Progressive brain damage
In some cases brain damage can gradually occur over time. Examples of conditions that cause progressive brain damage include:
Articles for Vegetative State
Causes of disorders of consciousness
Disorders of consciousness can occur if the parts of the brain responsible for consciousness are injured or damaged.
Diagnosing disorders of consciousness
It takes extensive testing to assess levels of wakefulness and awareness before a disorder of consciousness can be confirmed.
Introduction
A disorder of consciousness, or impaired consciousness, is a state where consciousness is affected by an injury to the brain.
