SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Michelle Star writes at C/net that Surgeon Sergio Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, believes he has developed a technique to remove the head from a non-functioning body and transplant it onto the healthy body. According to Canavero's paper published in Surgical Neurology International, first, both the transplant head and the donor body need to be cooled in order to slow cell death. Then, the neck of both would be cut and the major blood vessels linked with tubes. Finally, the spinal cords would be severed, with as clean a cut as possible. Joining the spinal cords, with the tightly packed nerves inside, is key. The plan involves flushing the area with polyethylene glycol, followed by several hours of injections of the same, a chemical that encourages the fat in cell membranes to mesh. The blood vessels, muscles and skin would then be sutured and the patient would be induced into a coma for several weeks to keep them from moving around; meanwhile, electrodes would stimulate the spine with electricity in an attempt to strengthen the new nerve connections.
Head transplants have been tried before. In 1970, Robert White led a team at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, US, that tried to transplant the head of one monkey on to the body of another. The surgeons stopped short of a full spinal cord transfer, so the monkey could not move its body. Despite Canavero’s enthusiasm, many surgeons and neuroscientists believe massive technical hurdles push full body transplants into the distant future. The starkest problem is that no one knows how to reconnect spinal nerves and make them work again. “This is such an overwhelming project, the possibility of it happening is very unlikely,” says Harry Goldsmith.
This experimental study has confirmed a method to avoid cerebral ischemia during the surgery and solved an important part of the problem of how to accomplish long-term survival after transplantation and preservation of the donor brain stem.
http://gizmodo.com/the-crazy-science-behind-a-proposed-human-head-transpla-1688014257
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/06/head-transplant-italian-neuroscientist_n_3533391.html
[Abstract]: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cns.12341/abstract
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Immerman on Friday February 27 2015, @05:47PM
Nice idea, but do you really see much economic demand for such a thing?
On the other hand, not so ethical but MUCH greater commercial value:
3. Body transplants for the wealthy. How long do you suppose the head could survive if transplanted onto a healthy young body as the old one begins to age? Brain cells don't divide much, so many of the of the normal aging processes don't apply - how many of the remaining processes might be slowed or reversed by maintaining healthy young blood and immune system?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 27 2015, @11:09PM
One of anti-aging's most important targets is the brain. With this whole body transplant, you do nothing to stop Alzheimer's, etc. I don't think you get "healthy young blood and immune system" with this transplant... because you'll be taking anti-rejection drugs to suppress the immune system. Now if you were able to grow an illegal clone and attach your head to it, that might be more interesting to the rich. It's a far greater investment, it's already illegal, but you get around the problem of finding an ideal and accessible donor body.