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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Most locked-in patients 'happy' | Most locked-in patients 'happy' |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| The majority of people with locked-in syndrome are happy, a small French study suggests. | The majority of people with locked-in syndrome are happy, a small French study suggests. |
| The disease "traps" people in their own body, able to think, but incapable of moving or talking. | The disease "traps" people in their own body, able to think, but incapable of moving or talking. |
| The study of 65 patients, published in the British Medical Journal's BMJ Open, found 72% reported being happy, with just 7% wanting help to commit suicide. | |
| Experts said it showed it would be unwise to make assumptions about people's mental state. | Experts said it showed it would be unwise to make assumptions about people's mental state. |
| The findings could also have implications on the assisted suicide debate, the researchers said. | The findings could also have implications on the assisted suicide debate, the researchers said. |
| However, they warned that there could be some bias in the study with the most unhappy patients refusing to take part. | However, they warned that there could be some bias in the study with the most unhappy patients refusing to take part. |
| The participants, from the French Association for Locked in Syndrome, responded by blinking or moving their eyes. | The participants, from the French Association for Locked in Syndrome, responded by blinking or moving their eyes. |
| Happy | Happy |
| About half of those questioned, 55%, had recovered some speech and 70% had recovered some limb movement. | About half of those questioned, 55%, had recovered some speech and 70% had recovered some limb movement. |
| The majority, 72%, said they were happy and 68% said they never had suicidal thoughts. | The majority, 72%, said they were happy and 68% said they never had suicidal thoughts. |
| The longer people were locked-in, the more likely they were to be happy. | The longer people were locked-in, the more likely they were to be happy. |
| Researchers at the University of Liège, Belgium, said: "We suggest that patients recently struck by the syndrome should be informed that, given proper care, they have a considerable chance of regaining a happy life. | Researchers at the University of Liège, Belgium, said: "We suggest that patients recently struck by the syndrome should be informed that, given proper care, they have a considerable chance of regaining a happy life. |
| "In our view, shortening of life requests are valid only when the patients have been give a chance to attain a steady state of subjective wellbeing." | "In our view, shortening of life requests are valid only when the patients have been give a chance to attain a steady state of subjective wellbeing." |
| Dr Adrian Owen, from the Centre for the Brain and Mind at the University of Western Ontario, said: "This is an extremely important study with a clear message - we cannot, and should not, presume to know what it must be like to be in one of these conditions. | Dr Adrian Owen, from the Centre for the Brain and Mind at the University of Western Ontario, said: "This is an extremely important study with a clear message - we cannot, and should not, presume to know what it must be like to be in one of these conditions. |
| "I think most of us feel that life in a lifeless body would not be a life worth living, but this study demonstrates that this is not always the case. | "I think most of us feel that life in a lifeless body would not be a life worth living, but this study demonstrates that this is not always the case. |
| "On the basis of the results, it would be unwise for us to make assumptions about the mental state of those individuals." | "On the basis of the results, it would be unwise for us to make assumptions about the mental state of those individuals." |