Medical miracle? Father 'wakes up' from seven-year coma after he is given a sleeping pill

  • Ayanda Nqinana, from Johannseburg, was left with severe brain injuries after his car crashed in 2005
  • His doctors said he would most likely never recover
  • Five days after they started giving him Stilnox, Mr Nqinana showed signs of consciousness

By Graham Smith

PUBLISHED: 09:13 EST, 11 September 2012 | UPDATED: 11:00 EST, 11 September 2012

A South African man who had been in a coma for seven years was 'woken up' after being given a sleeping pill.

Ayanda Nqinana, from Johannseburg, was left with severe brain injuries after his car crashed along an Eastern Cape road in 2005.

His doctors said the father-of-one would most likely never recover.

But his wife Nomfundo recently read a newspaper article about other long-term coma patients who had woken up after being fed sleeping pill Stilnox.

Reverse effect: A South African man who had been in a coma for seven years was 'woken up' after being given Stilnox sleeping pills

Reverse effect: A South African man who had been in a coma for seven years was 'woken up' after being given Stilnox sleeping pills

She insisted her husband be given the tablets and, just five days later, Mr Nqinana was awake and able to talk.

He even recognised relatives, including his son Ayavuya, and could recall conversations from before his crash.

 

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Mrs Nqinana told TimesLive.co.za: 'Ayavuya was so excited that he kept running to me saying: "Mum! Daddy knows my name."

'I will never forget the day Ayanda woke up; it was the happiest day of my life.

WHAT IS STILNOX?

Stilnox, also known as Ambien, is a prescription medicine used to treat insomnia by initiating sleep.

It contains Zolpidem, which studies have found increases blood flow in the brain, particularly in areas involved in language comprehension - allowing improved function.

Studies into the connection between stroke rehabilitation and Stilnox are ongoing.

John White at Moss Rehabilitation Center in Philadelphia is leading a study into the connection.

So far he has found that fewer than 10 per cent of stroke victims respond to the drug.

'We’re not able to yet advise families on how to use this drug clinically because the research is in the very early stages,' he said last year.

'The very first request he made was to see his son, and that moved me.'

Although Mr Nqinana is unable to hold a proper conversation, he can say the odd word and respond using sign language such as a thumbs-up gesture.

But his doctor, Siyabulela Bungana, remains unconvinced about Stilnox's ability to rouse patients out of a coma.

He said: 'He has not spoken to me. I have not seen any evidence of improvement.'

The case is not the first time that Stilnox has woken up somebody in a coma.

Last December, it is believed to have roused Sam Goddard, 23, after he suffered a series of strokes that left him in a coma.

Mr Goddard, from Brisbane, Australia, was playing football in February 2010 when his head began to pound so severely he screamed for an ambulance.

Doctors told his fiancée Sally Jane Nielson that he had suffered a staggering eight strokes, leaving him with permanent brain damage, and would never be able to walk, talk or recognise his loved ones, and would likely be blind.

But after 45 days in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit at Royal Brisbane Hospital – where he also contracted pneumonia – Mr Goddard woke up and began making slow progress after he was given Stilnox.


 
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Todays no-brainer...LsyettstsRTSYDYDDY - jools , escaped the uk., Uhhh, is this what that drug does to you Jools? Who knows he may have read the tale about Rip van Winkle and was tripping on it...who knows?

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Doctor denied it help because he didn't think of it or know about it.

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LsyettstsRTSYDYDDY

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Sleeping pills can help. Sometimes sleeping pills help me reduce stress and thus I become more productive and motivated. So instead of making me sleep they help to achieve. Sleep can be induced by stress protection mechanisms because in extreme circumstances this sleep can help survive. Now by using sleeping pills you cause relief of those mechanisms which in this case at fault, therefore waking up. I know everything or at least have a clue.

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Fingers crossed for all those with loved ones in a coma.

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This is hardly news as its been used to wake coma patients for the last 6 years. But the effect only lasts for around an hour and the patient goes back into a coma , frances , stevenage, 11/9/2012 20:36 Why the red arrows when what i said was both true and medical fact? I'm a nurse and have been giving this drug to coma patients for several years- which is why i said its not a new discovery! And when you see comatosed patients wake up and respond to their families for the first time in years it really is like witnessing a miracle! But it is a fact that the effect wears off in about an hour-and its severe side means it can only be given 4 times a day.So research is needed to find out how and why it stimulates the brain in some people And then to find ways of prolonging the wakeful periods to several hours.

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MissyMunkie: Tell me about it! I overdosed on that stuff and it severely impaired my memory. I have gaps of time that I can't account for. Unfortunately, my family doesn't believe me :(

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This is a miracle! You have to love some of the great things science has given us!

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Its a highly addictive drug and very difficult to stop taking so should only be used in desperate situations like these. - GWhizz , Royston, 11/9/2012 21:04 Why the preaching?! It is not that addictive to compare to other sleeping medications.

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Zolpidem is the generic name for Ambien. And, yes, it does not help you sleep, but puts you in an amnesia like state, where you could do all sorts of crazy stuff and have absolutely no memory of it. I've had instances where I took the whole bottle in one night, and didn't realize I was doing it. It sucks at helping you sleep though. I do hope they find a better use for it, because it shouldn't be prescribed as a sleep aid.

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