The alien head of an unknown monkey

Yana Khlyustova, Ekaterina Shutova

The monkey's head transplant was successful, said Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero, who is going to transplant the head of a Russian programmer in December 2017. Department of Science "Newspapers.Ru" explains why scientists are skeptical about these words, and also tells why experts consider a human head transplant operation unacceptable.

On the morning of January 19, RIA Novosti published an interview with Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero, who had previously announced his intention to perform a head transplant operation on Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov. The operation was scheduled for December 2017. In an interview, Canavero said that he and his Chinese colleagues are actively working on the implementation of the project – they are conducting head transplant operations for monkeys.

Canavero stated that he and Chinese scientists managed to prove that the spinal cord and the brain stem are quite real to connect after disconnection. The surgeon claims that the technique he developed for "gluing" cells using polyethylene glycol has demonstrated its effectiveness and in the case of rats, the mobility of their limbs was restored by 60%.

Operations were also performed on monkeys: according to Canavero, in this case, the head transplant was completely successful, and the primate survived the operation.

If everything that Canavero says is true, then scientists have really made a grand breakthrough, since at the moment doctors do not have a technique that would allow them to completely restore the severed connections between the spinal cord and the brain. Otherwise, this technique would already be used to treat paralyzed people.

Canavero, however, does not seek to share his achievements with the scientific community: he stated that the results of the work were accepted for publication in two peer-reviewed scientific journals, but it is unknown in which and how soon they will be published.

Speaking about the head transplant from one monkey to another, Sergio Canavero said that the operation was successful and after its completion the animal lived for about 20 hours, after which scientists put him to sleep, "not wanting to cause him unnecessary suffering."

A logical question arises: what fate awaits Valery Spiridonov in this case, if the operation is as successful as in the case of monkeys?

"Attempts to transplant the head to the trunk are known from laboratory practice. These are the works of the Russian experimental scientist Demikhov in the 1930s and 1950s, who transplanted the heads of dogs, one of them even lived, in my opinion, for a couple of days, - reminded the science department of the newspaper.Ru" Candidate of Medical Sciences, neurosurgeon Alexey Kashcheev. – This experience largely served as a prototype of the image in the story "The Heart of a Dog" – in those days, science fiction was generally popular. At the moment, no such operation has been performed for people. There are a number of limitations that arise in connection with a head transplant. First, there are no methods yet that can reunite nerve tissue – one with another. The second problem is histocompatibility (tissue compatibility). But the main problem – the first one – is the problem of the inability to restore the broken anatomical connection in the nervous tissue. There is no such technology yet.

Is it possible to restore the torn one?

Canavero says that some of the techniques that should further improve the result of operations have not yet been used, in particular, a spinal cord stimulator. Science already knows examples of successful use of such stimulants to restore connections between the brain and spinal cord. The authors of the study, published in the journal of Neurotrauma, managed to restore leg mobility to five patients who had previously received a diagnosis: recovery is impossible.

During the treatment, electrical stimulation was used – the electrodes sent signals to the coccyx and lumbar region. Despite the fact that sensitivity and some mobility of the legs were restored in all five patients, the ability to walk did not return to them. The authors of the study believe that, in fact, the neural connections of the patients were not destroyed, but as if they were "asleep" – and the electric current managed to "wake them up".

There is another well-known example of restoring neural connections. American scientists have published an article in The Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation describing the case of a patient who regained the ability to walk. Earlier, both of his legs were paralyzed as a result of mechanical trauma, and neural connections were severed.

Despite the really impressive success of scientists, it was not possible to restore these ties. To restore the man's ability to walk, researchers have created a system capable of transmitting signals from the brain to the limbs "bypassing" damaged neural connections. The system is based on the principle of electroencephalography – recording of electrical signals of brain neurons. A helmet equipped with reading electrodes was put on the patient's head, and "knee pads" receiving signals were put on his legs. The helmet recorded the commands of the brain and delivered them to the legs, which gained the ability to move.

Doctors are against

As follows from these two examples, active attempts to restore neural connections between the brain and spinal cord are indeed underway – but so far they have not been crowned with success. If Sergio Canavero has found a way to do this, why has he not yet applied the method of experimental treatment specifically on paralyzed people?

The same question was asked by Paolo Macchiarini, a transplant surgeon, who in an interview with "Gazeta.Ru" told about his attitude to the Canavero project.

"How can you imagine such an operation at all? Personally, I think he's a criminal," Macchiarini said. – Firstly, there is no scientific basis for this. Secondly, this is already something from the field of transhumanism… How in general can one person's brain suddenly start functioning, being attached to another body? Even if we imagine that he has learned to restore the severed connections between parts of the spinal cord and the nervous system, why is this technique not yet used to treat paralyzed patients, for example? I first heard about this operation when I was in Germany, and I read about it in the yellow press. There was a photo of him, he was smiling, talking: "I'll do this, this, and then this." And then I found out that the Russian was going to become his patient, and I thought, "Either he's a complete idiot, or he doesn't realize the danger." I think it is impossible to allow this operation, it is ethically unacceptable. In 100 years, maybe, but now it's complete nonsense."

Alexey Kashcheev holds the same opinion: "I am never against any experiments in medicine (medicine should move forward!), but the possible implementation of such an operation can speak of two things. First, Canavero and his colleagues have several completely exclusive technologies that are 50-100 years ahead of the development of medicine – and manage to keep it a secret. This is unlikely, because such developments require the work of thousands of specialists in several laboratories. It should be not only doctors, but also biologists, geneticists, immunologists. This cannot be ignored. The success of all transplantations is advertised years after they are performed – because operated people may face completely unexpected complications associated with tissue rejection. And the very fact that people are already talking about a head transplant confirms that it is, with a high probability, fake. That is, it is such a speculation. For what purpose it is carried out, I do not really imagine. I know Italian colleagues who twist their finger at the temple at the mention of Canavero. And it's hard for me to imagine that such technologies that are too much ahead of their time are tied to one person. Considering how complex science is now, it's simply impossible."

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20.01.2015