Pharmacological therapies for early and long-term recovery in disorders of consciousness: current knowledge and promising avenues.
Expert review of neurotherapeutics June 1, 2025 Rosalie Girard Pepin, Fatemeh Seyfzadeh, David Williamson et al. 7 citations
Pharmacological treatment options for disorders of consciousness (DoC), which range from coma to minimally conscious state, remain limited due to the heterogeneity of causes such as traumatic brain injury, stroke, and infections. A lack of rigorous clinical trials has led to off-label use of drugs—including dopaminergic and GABAergic agents, antidepressants, statins, and anticonvulsants—often without clear mechanistic understanding. Robust longitudinal trials are needed, prioritizing early subacute intervention and better-defined outcomes that consider immediate responses and long-term quality of life. A shift toward personalized medicine and unified functional frameworks is advocated, along with increased use of AI tools to predict treatment responses.