Legendary Formula One driver Michael Schumacher, who met a near-fatal accident while skiing, is "responding to instructions" after the doctors on Thursday started to reduce the dose of sedatives to bring him out of artificial coma, L'Equipe newspaper has reported.
According to the report, Schumacher has blinked during brain tests. L'Equipe has also cited "very reliable sources" as saying that the seven-time world champion is responding "positively" to various neurological tests since the start of this week.
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The 45-year-old champion F1 driver was kept under artificial coma to reduce swelling in his brain after the traumatic accident on December 29 in the French resort of Meribel.
The French daily also reported that Schumi was administered high dosage of powerful anaesthetic drugs to give his brain injury time to heal.
The newspaper report said: "After gradually reducing the sedation of the patient, the team of Professor Emmanuel Gay [the medic overseeing Schumacher's treatment] has been doing neurological tests since Monday. During this first stage, the patient blinked."
Earlier on Thursday, it was widely reported that medics had started the process to end Schumacher's coma by gradually reducing the dosage of powerful anaesthetic drugs being administered. And the driver's manager Sabine Kehm confirmed later in the day that those reports were correct. "Michael's sedation has recently been reduced to initiate a process of awakening which may take a long time," she told reporters.
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