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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Will A Person With Brain Atrophy End Up In Comma?

Will a person with brain atrophy end up in a comma? My 80 year old mother was diagnosed last year with brain atrophy. She was just seen by another neurologist who has determined that the disease has progressed at a rapid pace. We are trying to understand where this could go. Worst case.
Fri, 5 May 2017
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Internal Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Hello and welcome to HCM.
The short answer is that brain atrophy does not end up in coma.

Brain atrophy is a finding on a CT scan or MRI of the brain - it is a radiological finding and not a clinical diagnosis. Brain atrophy on a scan may suggest that a patient is having cognitive deficit or dementia.

When you say that "the neurologist has determined that the disease has progressed at a rapid pace" you probably mean that the neurologist has diagnosed your mother with dementia and is referring to dementia as progressing rapidly.
Dementia does not end up in coma, but in "end stage dementia" - worst case which you are asking about - patients brains deteriorate so badly that patients do loose all contact with the outside world and their condition may be compared to patients in a real coma.

I hope you find my answer helpful.
Regards and all the best while you care for your mother.




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Will A Person With Brain Atrophy End Up In Comma?

Hello and welcome to HCM. The short answer is that brain atrophy does not end up in coma. Brain atrophy is a finding on a CT scan or MRI of the brain - it is a radiological finding and not a clinical diagnosis. Brain atrophy on a scan may suggest that a patient is having cognitive deficit or dementia. When you say that the neurologist has determined that the disease has progressed at a rapid pace you probably mean that the neurologist has diagnosed your mother with dementia and is referring to dementia as progressing rapidly. Dementia does not end up in coma, but in end stage dementia - worst case which you are asking about - patients brains deteriorate so badly that patients do loose all contact with the outside world and their condition may be compared to patients in a real coma. I hope you find my answer helpful. Regards and all the best while you care for your mother.