A MAN who had been in a vegetative state for 15 years is showing signs of consciousness after pioneering treatment.

In the month since a vagus nerve stimulator was put into his chest, the 35-year-old, who was injured in a car accident, has begun responding to simple orders that had been impossible before.

The findings may help to show by stimulating the vagus nerve “it is possible to improve a patient’s presence in the world”, says lead researcher Angela Sirigu of Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod in Lyon, France.

Researchers say the case may challenge the view a vegetative state lasting more than a year is irreversible.