As 2011 was winding down, the story of Australian stoke victim, Sam Goddard was still making the rounds on American television and in social media.  His fiancée, Sally Nielsen, discovered information on the internet about the use of Stilnox/Ambien, a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, as a way to help brain injury victims move out of their vegetative states.  The active ingredient in Stilnox is called Zolpidem - it is a sedative which acts as a central nervous system depressant that slows down the activities of the brain to be able to induce sleep.

Sally facilitated getting Sam the prescription for Stilnox, and adjusted the dosages which then allowed him to begin to communicate with the outside world.

There are many more details about Sam Goddard, his family, and Dr. Wally Nel and Dr. Ralph Claus, who are doing  studies on Stilnox and its effects on the brain.  While researchers work to catch up with what this all means and begin filtering it through the prism of evidence-based medicine, brain injury victims and their families are hopeful.  

Stilnox may or may not be a total rescue for brain injury victims. However, its undeniable results in this one case bear out the importance of the continuous exploration of drug rediscovery as a way to improve patients’ lives quickly and safely by repurposing existing drugs and treatments.

For more on this topic please click the links below:

http://rockcenter.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/28/9769951-stroke-victim-recovering-with-fiances-love-and-unconventional-ambien-treatment

http://sixtyminutes.ninemsn.com.au/blog.aspx?blogentryid=928199&showcomments=true

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2006/sep/12/health.healthandwellbeing