Disorders of Consciousness (DOC) are a spectrum of pathologies affecting one’s ability to interact with the external world. Two possible conditions of patients with DOC are Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome/Vegetative State (UWS/VS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS). Analysis of spontaneous EEG activity and the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are effective techniques in exploring and evaluating patients with DOC. This study aims to observe fluctuations in EEG and HRV parameters in the morning/afternoon resting-state recording. The study enrolled 13 voluntary Healthy Control (HC) subjects and 12 DOC patients (7 MCS, 5 UWS/VS). EEG and EKG were recorded. PSDalpha, PSDtheta powerband, alpha-blocking, alpha/theta of the EEG, Complexity Index (CI) and SDNN of EKG were analyzed. Higher values of PSDalpha, alpha-blocking, alpha/theta and CI values and lower values of PSD theta characterized HC individuals in the morning with respect to DOC patients. In the afternoon, we detected a significant difference between groups in the CI, PSDalpha, PSDtheta, alpha/theta and SDNN, with lower PSDtheta value for HC. CRS-R scores showed a strong correlation with recorded parameters mainly during evaluations in the morning. Our finding put in evidence the importance of the assessment, as the stimulation of DOC patients in research for behavioural response, in the morning.

Although botulinum toxin is widely considered an effective and safe treatment for a variety of neurological conditions (such as disabling spasticity), local or systemic adverse effects have often been reported. This study describes three cases of patients with severe acquired brain injury who were receiving speech therapy for recovering dysphagia and dysarthria but showed worsening of these symptoms after receiving BoNT treatment for motor spasticity. To increase clinicians’ knowledge of these adverse effects, we present our cases and explore their significance to avoid major complications such as aspiration pneumonia.

This case report focuses on assessing aphasia in a congenitally blind patient with an ischemic lesion using the Aachener Aphasia Test. The method involved adapting existing assessment tools to the patient, integrating Braille as an accessible technology, and incorporating the patient’s family for emotional support and for the identification of patient-specific communication strategies. The assessment revealed patient strengths in areas such as articulation, prosody, and repetition skills, but also exposed challenges in semantic and syntactic structures. However, the unavailability to assess and score naming and comprehension limited a full assessment of the patient’s language abilities. The findings underscore the need for flexible, tailored assessment strategies and collaborative approaches involving healthcare professionals and families. Moreover, it suggests a considerable research gap and a need for standard tools to assess blind patients with aphasia comprehensively. This case report contributes to the limited knowledge of assessing aphasia in blind individuals and calls for further research in this area to refine and expand the available tools and strategies.