Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

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2. Philosophical, Ethical, and Legal Issues

   1. Brain Death

      • Julius Korein, Calixto Machado

      Pages 1-14

   2. The Concept of Brain Death

      • Jean-Michel Guérit

      Pages 15-21

   3. The “Critical Organ” for the Organism as a Whole

      • D. Alan Shewmon

      Pages 23-41

   4. “Brain Death” is not Death

      • Paul A. Byrne, Walt F. Weaver

      Pages 43-49

   5. The Conceptual Basis for Brain Death Revisited

      • John P. Lizza

      Pages 51-59

   6. Consciousness, Mind, Brain, and Death

      • Josef Seifert

      Pages 61-78

   7. The Death of Death

      • James J. Hughes

      Pages 79-87

   8. The Semiotics of Death and its Medical Implications

      • D. Alan Shewmon, Elisabeth Seitz Shewmon

      Pages 89-114

   9. About the Continuity of Our Consciousness

      • Pim van Lommel

      Pages 115-132

   10. Brain Death and Organ Transplantation

       • Z. Harry Rappaport, Isabelle T. Rappaport

       Pages 133-137

   11. Cuba has Passed a Law for the Determination and Certification of Death

       • Calixto Machado, Mayda Abeledo, Carlos Álvarez, Rosa M. Aroche, Irene Barrios, Alicia M. Lasanta et al.

       Pages 139-142

3. Diagnosis, Pathophysiology and Treatment

   1. Neuroprotection Becomes Reality

      • Maxwell S. Damian

      Pages 143-150

   2. Controlled Hypertension for Refractory High Intracranial Pressure

      • Philippe Hantson

      Pages 151-159

   3. On Irreversibility as a Prerequisite for Brain Death Determination

      • James L. Bernat

      Pages 161-167

   4. How Should Testing for Apnea be Performed in Diagnosing Brain Death?

      • Christoph J. G. Lang, Josef G. Heckmann

      Pages 169-174

   5. Evoked Potentials in the Diagnosis of Brain Death

      • Enrico Facco, Calixto Machado

      Pages 175-187

   6. Recovery from near Death Following Cerebral Anoxia

      • Ted L. Rothstein

      Pages 189-196

   7. Human Brain-Dead Donors and 31P MRS Studies on Feline Myocardial Energy Metabolism

      • George J. Brandon Bravo Bruinsma, Cees J. A. van Echteld

      Pages 197-205

   8. Organ Donation after Fatal Poisoning

      • Philippe Hantson

      Pages 207-213

Although some decades have passed, there are still worldwide controversies about a concept of human death on neurological grounds. There are also disagreements on the diagnostic criteria for brain death, whether clinical alone or clinical plus ancillary tests. Moreover, some scholars who were strong defenders of a brain-based standard of death are now favoring a circulatory-respiratory standard. The study of coma is extremely important because lesions of the brain are responsible for quality of life in patients or cause of death. The main goal of Brain Death and Disorders of Consciousness is to provide a suitable scientific platform to discuss all topics related to human death and coma.

• brain
• death
• electroencephalography (EEG)
• intracranial pressure
• neuroprotection
• physiology
• spinal cord
• transplantation

• Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana, Cuba

  Calixto Machado

• David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, USA

  D. Alan Shewmon

Policies and ethics