Spinal Cord Stimulation in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness

The spinal cord stimulation therapy is explorative at best at the moment. Attempts to improve the level of consciousness of patients in the different stages of DOC have shown some promise. Spinal cord stimulation(SCS) seem promising in some studies, suggesting that further research is needed. Current publications of DOC spinal cord stimulation therapy was not convincing because of the small number of patients and no randomized controlled trial. Therefore, there was much debate about the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation therapy because of the limitation of our understanding of consciousness and the uncertainty of parameters of neuromodulation. The better understanding of brain function and large randomized trials are necessary. Future research should also focus on identifying specific neuro-biomarkers (i.e. neural network). So, to figure out the indications and effectiveness of neuromodulation therapy should be the first step, and finding individual treatment and parameter may have important implications for DOC patients. Scientific Issues Targeted:1) To figure out the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation therapy using random controlled trial. 2) To explore individual parameters of SCS techniques.