John Whyte, MD, PhD, director of the Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, recently discussed his research into the use of Ambien to "wake" unconscious patients on the podcast Pharmatopia. 

Dr. Whyte and colleagues have published research in the past showing that zolpidem (available under the brand name Ambien) could accelerate the recovery of consciousness after brain injury.

"When I first began this research I already expected that the number of patients who would respond to the drug would be small, but I was hopeful that for those who did respond to the drug the benefits would be great," he told the podcast. "I've become less optimistic about that because ... the number of people who can use the drug enough to live a conscious life seems to be pretty small. So now my hope is more that the drug can be a probe to help us understand the difference between reversible unconsciousness and irreversible unconsciousness."

Listen to the podcast
Learn more about Dr. Whyte and his research