Joseph T. Giacino, Ph.D., John Whyte, M.D., Ph.D., Emilia Bagiella, Ph.D., Kathleen Kalmar, Ph.D., Nancy Childs, M.D., Allen Khademi, M.D., Bernd Eifert, M.D., David Long, M.D., Douglas I. Katz, M.D., Sooja Cho, M.D., Stuart A. Yablon, M.D., Marianne Luther, M.D., Flora M. Hammond, M.D., Annette Nordenbo, M.D., Paul Novak, O.T.R., Walt Mercer, Ph.D., Petra Maurer-Karattup, Dr.Rer.Nat., and Mark Sherer, Ph.D., et al.

Amantadine hydrochloride is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for patients with prolonged disorders of consciousness after traumatic brain injury. Preliminary studies have suggested that amantadine may promote functional recovery.

Joseph T. Giacino, PhD, Douglas I. Katz, MD, Nicholas D. Schiff, MD, John Whyte, MD, PhD, Eric J. Ashman, MD, Stephen Ashwal, MD, Richard Barbano, MD, PhD, Flora M. Hammond, MD, Steven Laureys, MD, PhD, Geoffrey S.F. Ling, MD, Risa Nakase-Richardson, PhD, Ronald T. Seel, PhD, Stuart Yablon, MD, Thomas S.D. Getchius, Gary S. Gronseth, MD, and Melissa J. Armstrong, MD, MSc

Report of the Guideline Development, Dissemination, and Implementation Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology; the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine; and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research

Joseph T. Giacino, John Whyte, Risa Nakase-Richardson, Douglas I. Katz, David B. Arciniegas, Sonja Blum, Kristin Day, Brian D. Greenwald, Flora M. Hammond, Theresa Bender Pape, Amy Rosenbaum, Ronald T. Seel, Alan Weintraub, Stuart Yablon, Ross D. Zafonte, Nathan Zasler

Persons who have disorders of consciousness (DoC) require care from multidisciplinary teams with specialized training and expertise in management of the complex needs of this clinical population. The recent promulgation of practice guidelines for patients with prolonged DoC by the American Academy of Neurology, American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM), and National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) represents a major advance in the development of care standards in this area of brain injury rehabilitation. Implementation of these practice guidelines requires explication of the minimum competencies of clinical programs providing services to persons who have DoC.

Joseph T Giacino , S Ashwal, N Childs, R Cranford, B Jennett, D I Katz, J P Kelly, J H Rosenberg, J Whyte, R D Zafonte, N D Zasler

There is a subgroup of patients with severe alteration in consciousness who do not meet diagnostic criteria for coma or the vegetative state (VS). These patients demonstrate inconsistent but discernible evidence of consciousness. It is important to distinguish patients in MCS from those in coma and VS because preliminary findings suggest that there are meaningful differences in outcome.

Joseph T Giacino, Kathleen Kalmar, John Whyte

To determine the measurement properties and diagnostic utility of the JFK Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R).

N D Schiff, J T Giacino, K Kalmar, J D Victor, K Baker, M Gerber, B Fritz, B Eisenberg, T Biondi, J O'Connor, E J Kobylarz, S Farris, A Machado, C McCagg, F Plum, J J Fins, A R Rezai

Widespread loss of cerebral connectivity is assumed to underlie the failure of brain mechanisms that support communication and goal-directed behaviour following severe traumatic brain injury. Disorders of consciousness that persist for longer than 12 months after severe traumatic brain injury are generally considered to be immutable; no treatment has been shown to accelerate recovery or improve functional outcome in such cases.