BMJ OpenSeptember 22, 2026Anna Kristina Eigenbrodt, Poul P Laigaard, Melika Hassani et al.
Recovery of consciousness after brain injury remains a major challenge in the intensive care unit (ICU), and pharmacological treatments that directly promote awakening from coma and other disorders of consciousness (DoC) are lacking. We hypothesise that simultaneously targeting the two core components of consciousness by pharmacological means-arousal with apomorphine and awareness with...
Cortical spreading depolarisation (SD) is a pathological wave of depolarisation in the cortex. SDs occur frequently after severe acute brain injury, and SDs in clusters can contribute to secondary brain damage in patients with severe acute brain injury through hypoperfusion and upregulation of cerebral metabolism in vulnerable brain tissue. Ketamine appears to inhibit SDs both in vitro and in...
BrainJune 12, 2025Marwan H Othman, Attila Géry Toury-Puel, Karen Irgens Tanderup Hansen et al.7 citations
In the intensive care unit (ICU), management of unresponsive patients with brain injury focuses on preventing secondary brain damage. Therapeutic strategies that directly promote the recovery of consciousness are urgently needed. In an investigator-initiated, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over trial, we studied the effects of apomorphine and methylphenidate in ICU patients...
Neurocritical careApril 1, 2025Trine Hjorslev Andreasen, Frederik Andreas Madsen, Marija Barbateskovic et al.8 citations
Patients with severe acute brain injury have a high risk of a poor clinical outcome due to primary and secondary brain injury. Ketamine reportedly inhibits cortical spreading depolarization, an electrophysiological phenomenon that has been associated with secondary brain injury, making ketamine potentially attractive for patients with severe acute brain injury. The aim of this systematic review...