Release date: 2016-05-19
Reality science development seems to have been based on science fiction. In many science fiction descriptions, the human brain and torso can be separated by surgery, and there is a similar description in Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio. After the development of science and technology made organ transplantation possible, some scientists are also exploring the possibility of head transplantation.
Recently, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has further released a detailed plan for a head transplant that will be carried out at the end of next year. Last year, it claimed that it was theoretically possible to transplant a human head to the torso and select a Russian programmer suffering from muscular dystrophy to confirm that a head transplant trial will be conducted by the end of 2017.
Although Sergio is confident in surgery, the academic community has questioned the voice and believes that surgery is difficult, even if the patient can survive successfully, it will not change its living conditions. Some scholars believe that Sergio is promoting himself. So is head transplant technically feasible? Is it a disaster or a gospel for people?
How to transplant?
As early as 2013, Sergio had proposed the theory of head transplantation. In his view, it is theoretically feasible to transplant a head with a trunk disease to a healthy body.
The biggest difficulty in head transplantation is the connection of the spinal cord and the repair of neurons. As the nerve center, the spinal cord controls the physical activity of the human body, and the brain has a guiding effect on the spinal cord. Separating the spinal cord from the brain requires cutting off the spinal cord and nerve conduit. Whether it has a certain degree of damage to the brain or the spinal cord, the focus of the transplant surgery is whether the damage can be restored.
Sergio believes that the spine-related trauma can cause great damage to the spine, but a neat and clean cut can help the spinal cord to heal. "Spinal cord injury produces 26,000 Newtons of force, making damage difficult to recover, and using a sharp knife will only produce less than 10 Newtons," Sergio said in a TEDx speech.
Currently, the head transplant of the operation was selected as a Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov with congenital muscular atrophy, and the body was provided by a brain death donor. It is reported that the entire operation will last for 36 hours, cost about 20 million US dollars, including 150 surgeons, nurses and other people will participate in the operation.
According to the Sergio plan, in order to ensure cell and nerve activity, the transplanter's head will be placed in a low temperature state, and the spinal cord will use polydiethanol as a fusion agent. At the same time, after the surgery is completed, Valery will enter 3 by medical attraction. After 4 weeks of coma, during this time, the doctor constantly stimulated his spinal nerves to reconnect and start working.
Sergio said that he has done enough experiments, theoretically, the head transplant surgery is mature, he will use this time to train 150 medical staff to ensure that they can work in turn.
Questioning the voice
Although Sergio is confident in his plan, his theory has indeed received public attention. However, the industry generally doubts that its approach cannot be realized in reality.
Since the beginning of the last century, the medical profession has been exploring the possibility of head transplantation. Some scientists have tested head transplants in mice and dogs. However, the results of the operation are not satisfactory. At present, they have not survived after transplantation. precedent.
In fact, Sergio's theory is supported by a number of single theories, for example, it is stated in the speech that it can restore spinal cord activity through current stimulation, but these are based on the degree of spinal cord injury, but not necessarily for the transplant head. Have an effect.
"Technically speaking, it is not feasible. Head transplant is actually an artificial high-cutting damage. So far, this kind of reconnection can only restore some simple functions in mice, but these functions are not enough to guarantee all functions. It is very risky to test people under these conditions." Huang Hongyun, chairman of the International Society for Neurorestoration.
In addition, Sergio's theory ignores a biological problem: although the human body can achieve self-repair of the cells, the electronic pulse of the peripheral nervous system is exactly the same as that of the central nervous system. However, the current study shows that the central nervous system of advanced vertebrates is Hard to regenerate.
Michael Beattie, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that genes that control cell regeneration in the mature mammalian central nervous system are inhibited, and it is difficult to regenerate it with either polydiethanol or current.
Michael believes that the central nervous system can not regenerate because of the movement-related currents in the spinal cord and brain. The spinal cord cells must be closely linked to each other in order to accurately control motor function. "If this connection is formed, you will not want to establish a new relationship."
Therefore, even if it is successfully transplanted, it is impossible for Valery to cure its current disease through head transplant, and it may have more serious consequences. Surgery is carried out when the technical conditions are not yet mature, which is contrary to morality. "If you really want to transplant in people, it can only be a tragedy." Huang Hongyun said.
Source: Phoenix Network
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