(CNN) — Doctors caring for released North Korea
detainee Otto Warmbier said he has not spoken
or moved on his own since he arrived in the
United States on Tuesday, a condition they
described as "unresponsive wakefulness" or
persistent vegetative state.
The 22-year-old has suffered extensive loss of
brain tissue in all regions of the brain, doctors at
the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said
in a news conference Thursday.
Also known as persistent vegetative state, the
syndrome's symptoms include no voluntary
movement or awareness of surroundings.
Warmbier opens his eyes and blinks
spontaneously but shows no signs of
understanding language or responding to verbal
commands, said Dr. Daniel Kanter, professor of
neurology and director of the Neurocritical Care
Program.
The news shed light on the Warmbier family's
statement that their son suffered severe brain
damage at some point in his 17 months of
detention.
His parents said they learned of their son's
condition -- what North Korea called a coma --
only last week. Earlier Thursday, Fred Warmbier
said he rejected the regime's explanation that
his son fell into a coma after contracting
botulism and taking a sleeping pill in March 2016
after his trial for trying to steal a political ban
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