Spinal cord instead of the brain
The authors of the idea of a head transplant cured paralysis in monkeys and dogs
The results of their experiments are published in the journal Surgical Neurology International (Ren et al., Reconstruction of the spinal cord of spinal transected dogs with polyethylene glycol).
"For six years, our colleagues from the European and American associations of neurosurgeons stubbornly adhered to the opinion that the damaged spinal cord cannot be cured by any surgical methods. We are publishing three articles on experiments on dogs and monkeys that refute this misconception," said Ren Xiaoting, a neurosurgeon from Harbin University (China).
At the end of February 2015, Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero announced the launch of the ambitious HEAVEN/AHBR project, in which he planned to transplant a volunteer's head onto a donor body by connecting the spinal cord to the brain using a special procedure, which he calls the "GEMINI protocol".
Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov, who was confined to a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy, responded to Canavero's call. The Russian suffers from Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome – a severe genetic disease that gradually deprives a person of the ability to move.
The opinions of neurosurgeons regarding the possible operation were divided: some do not rule out such a possibility in principle, but are not sure of the success of the operation, others consider the head transplant an adventure that will inevitably end in failure.
Despite the skepticism of the scientific community, Canavero and his like-minded friend from China have already demonstrated mice and monkeys with transplanted heads at the end of 2016. Two years ago, Canavero announced the successful transplantation of the head of one corpse onto the body of another deceased person as part of a complex operation that took 18 hours in one of the hospitals of the PRC.
In all these cases, scientists used a special ultrathin carbon nanofin, an organic substance polyethylene glycol, which helps nerve fibers "stick together" with each other, as well as a special technique for stimulating the spinal cord at the incision site, necessary for the appearance of communication between neurons.
The experiments of Canavero and Xiaoping caused a great public outcry, the result of which was, as the Chinese scientist himself states, that UNESCO adopted a de facto ban on conducting such operations and experiments. This did not stop the creators of the GEMINI protocol, and they decided to reorient their brainchild to solve an equally important, but less controversial problem – the elimination of the consequences of fractures and spinal injuries.
Xiaoping and his colleagues tested the work of this technique of splicing nervous tissue on a dozen beagles and one Rhesus macaque. They had previously completely cut the spinal cord of the animals and then tried to restore it by treating it with a solution of polyethylene glycol and other chemicals necessary for the formation of new connections between nerve cells.
These experiments showed that such a technique worked very effectively on dogs – the first positive changes in the work of their limbs appeared already on the third day after the operation. In the next six months, their condition improved markedly without any intervention by researchers, and in two cases, the beagles began to move almost as well as before the operation.
Two dogs, as the surgeon noted, continue to live in his laboratory to this day. Outwardly, they cannot be distinguished from completely healthy animals that have never experienced a spinal injury.
Interestingly, observations of the behavior of cells in the spinal cord itself showed that the positive effect of polyethylene glycol was not due to the fact that it prevented the formation of a "scar" at the site of injury, as scientists previously believed, but contributed to the growth of new nerve endings.
Chinese researchers have achieved similar success in experiments on macaques.
A monkey who survived a complete rupture of the spine. Photo: Ren Xiaoping
This, according to Xiaoping, speaks in favor of the fact that their approach is quite workable and surpasses other experimental methods of combating paralysis. According to him, he is ready to start clinical trials on volunteers in any country in the world ready to conduct similar experiments, including in Russia.
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