Human Head Transplants Could Become A Reality By 2017
Options
Idiopathic Joker
Members, Moderators Posts: 45,691 Regulator
Head transplants, or body transplants depending on how you look at them, are not just a thing of quirky horror movies. The first documented procedure was carried out back in the ‘50s when surgeon and transplant pioneer Vladimir Demikhov grafted the head and forelimbs of a puppy onto the body of a different dog. Disturbingly, he followed this with his more famous work, which involved the creation of two-headed dogs. Unsurprisingly, none of his animals lasted for more than a few days.
While ethically questionable, these procedures ultimately led to the first successful head transplant on a monkey in 1970 by Dr. Robert White, who was apparently inspired by Demikhov’s work. Although White demonstrated the feasibility of the procedure, he didn’t bother to attempt to fuse the spinal cords of the donor monkey with the recipient, so it was paralyzed and couldn’t breathe without assistance. Although little has been done subsequently, medicine has progressed by leaps and bounds since then. So much so that one neurosurgeon believes that the procedure could soon be carried out on humans, and he has just published an outline of what the surgery would potentially involve.
According to the doctor, Sergio Canavero, the major obstacles to success—such as the risk of the body rejecting the head—can now be overcome thanks to modern medicine, and with a few further advances, the procedure could be ready as soon as 2017. That being said, just because it can be done, that does not mean it will—there are major ethical issues that would need to be considered before it can be approved. Those aside, this kind of dramatic surgery could offer hope to people whose organs are plagued with cancer, or those who have suffered major accidents. That’s why Canavero is now trying to recruit a team to further explore the possibility of such a technique and plans to announce the project later this year, according to New Scientist.
So what would the surgery involve? First, the recipient’s head would have to be cooled to keep the cells alive, as would the recently deceased donor. Next, the neck is cut into and the blood vessels are hooked up by a series of small tubes. After the spinal cords are neatly severed, the head is then moved onto the donor body, which is ready for the trickiest and most crucial part: joining up the ends of the spinal cords.
To do this, Canavero suggests using a substance called polyethylene glycol, which would help fatty cell membranes meld together. The final part of the procedure involves stitching up the blood vessels and muscles before putting the patient into a coma for up to a month. After intense physiotherapy, the patient should be able to use their body and walk. Although there is a risk of rejection, as with any transplant, Canavero points out that immunosuppressive drugs should prevent this from happening.
However, many of the surgeons that the New Scientist contacted said the idea sounded “too outlandish,” while others simply refused to provide any remark at all. One of those who did comment was Harry Goldsmith, a clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, Davis, who said: “This is such an overwhelming project, the possibility of it happening is very unlikely. I don't believe it will ever work.”
Alongside the ethical considerations of such a surgery, some have expressed concerns that it could lead to people wanting to exchange their bodies for cosmetic reasons, so obviously if it does become legalized, strict regulations will have to be in place. Since the idea has been met with some strong opposition by those in the field of medicine, and many believe it simply won’t work, it will be interesting to see what unravels over the next couple of years.
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/human-head-transplants-could-become-reality-2017
While ethically questionable, these procedures ultimately led to the first successful head transplant on a monkey in 1970 by Dr. Robert White, who was apparently inspired by Demikhov’s work. Although White demonstrated the feasibility of the procedure, he didn’t bother to attempt to fuse the spinal cords of the donor monkey with the recipient, so it was paralyzed and couldn’t breathe without assistance. Although little has been done subsequently, medicine has progressed by leaps and bounds since then. So much so that one neurosurgeon believes that the procedure could soon be carried out on humans, and he has just published an outline of what the surgery would potentially involve.
According to the doctor, Sergio Canavero, the major obstacles to success—such as the risk of the body rejecting the head—can now be overcome thanks to modern medicine, and with a few further advances, the procedure could be ready as soon as 2017. That being said, just because it can be done, that does not mean it will—there are major ethical issues that would need to be considered before it can be approved. Those aside, this kind of dramatic surgery could offer hope to people whose organs are plagued with cancer, or those who have suffered major accidents. That’s why Canavero is now trying to recruit a team to further explore the possibility of such a technique and plans to announce the project later this year, according to New Scientist.
So what would the surgery involve? First, the recipient’s head would have to be cooled to keep the cells alive, as would the recently deceased donor. Next, the neck is cut into and the blood vessels are hooked up by a series of small tubes. After the spinal cords are neatly severed, the head is then moved onto the donor body, which is ready for the trickiest and most crucial part: joining up the ends of the spinal cords.
To do this, Canavero suggests using a substance called polyethylene glycol, which would help fatty cell membranes meld together. The final part of the procedure involves stitching up the blood vessels and muscles before putting the patient into a coma for up to a month. After intense physiotherapy, the patient should be able to use their body and walk. Although there is a risk of rejection, as with any transplant, Canavero points out that immunosuppressive drugs should prevent this from happening.
However, many of the surgeons that the New Scientist contacted said the idea sounded “too outlandish,” while others simply refused to provide any remark at all. One of those who did comment was Harry Goldsmith, a clinical professor of neurological surgery at the University of California, Davis, who said: “This is such an overwhelming project, the possibility of it happening is very unlikely. I don't believe it will ever work.”
Alongside the ethical considerations of such a surgery, some have expressed concerns that it could lead to people wanting to exchange their bodies for cosmetic reasons, so obviously if it does become legalized, strict regulations will have to be in place. Since the idea has been met with some strong opposition by those in the field of medicine, and many believe it simply won’t work, it will be interesting to see what unravels over the next couple of years.
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/human-head-transplants-could-become-reality-2017
Comments
-
The user and all related content has been deleted.
-
Damn close, yea
-
They were talking bout this on the radio today. That ? is bizzare
-
I mean I could see it being a ? sent if you were in a horrific crash that left your body completely paralysed. From the chest down. If you're able to get a new body, why not?
-
What if the only available compatible body is a fat cracka
-
I mean I could see it being a ? sent if you were in a horrific crash that left your body completely paralysed. From the chest down. If you're able to get a new body, why not?
? ultra risky. If the body rejects it then your dead. At best ur in a coma. And have to restart in a new body -
So how can this be weaponized cause we know it'll eventually get there?
-
Anyone want to be the first head transplant?
-
I ain't with this Frankenstein stuff. Them doctors probably ? around and put my head on a light skin ? body or some ?
-
It starts.
-
The user and all related content has been deleted.
-
? are gonna be ? if you don't wake the ? up
-
So when you call somebody a old head, it's gonna be literal?
-
I wonder how many times they've practiced this.
-
cheat code for immortality huh. why not make a spinal cord replacement get some of these mf's back walking.
-
How weird would it be having someone else's body? I wouldn't wanna do that.
Now, this makes sex changes a whole lot different.. deep pockets -
NO, HUMAN HEAD TRANSPLANTS WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE BY 2017
CANCEL YOUR CRYOGENIC HEAD-FREEZING APPOINTMENT
If you believe Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero, the first human head transplants are just around the corner. Canavero, from the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group in Italy, claims that surgeons will be able to transplant the head of one patient onto a completely different body by 2017.
Canavero outlined his ideas on what the procedure could look like in a recent publication. He plans to announce the project at a meeting of the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopaedic Surgeons in June.
This surgery could "save countless critically ill or injured patients' lives," says Xiaoping Ren, who studies hand surgery at Loyola University Chicago. Head transplantation could potentially help people suffering from muscle degeneration or widespread cancer.
But don't go picking out your new body yet.
Most neuroscientists are skeptical that human head transplants will be successful anytime in the near future.
"This is essentially science fiction at this point," says Jaimie Shores, a hand surgeon from Johns Hopkins.
What Makes Canavero Think It’s Possible?
It may sound like something out of Frankenstein or The Island Of Doctor Moreau, but real scientists are working on making head transplants viable. In 1970, neurosurgeon Robert White transplanted the head from one monkey onto the body of another.
The monkey’s spinal cord was never attached to its new body, so it remained paralyzed, but blood circulating to its brain meant the monkey could reportedly still see, hear, smell, and taste. Eventually, the body’s immune system rejected the foreign head, and the monkey died.
Last November, Ren and a team of Chinese researchers managed to exchange the heads of 18 mice. The transplanted heads had normal brain functioning.
They were able to blink and wiggle their whiskers, but they were paralyzed from the neck down. They survived for about three hours after they were removed from a ventilator.
So, yeah, human head transplants could be possible by 2017, but it’s not likely to be a very pleasant or long-lasting experience for the head donor.
What Are The Problems?
The biggest issue, of course, is connecting the spinal cord to the brain, so that the head can control its new body. Canavero suggests that scientists could use a growth-stimulating chemical called polyethylene glycol to join the neurons.
This chemical has been shown to help heal spinal cord injuries in rats. Other researchers are using electronics to bridge the gap in rats’ broken spinal cords.
Whether these methods will work to connect the spinal cords of two different animals (or people) is untested. If the site develops scar tissue—which is not uncommon during transplants—it could prevent the neurons from fusing together.
"This technology is way off from this type of clinical use in humans, though it has great potential," says Shores.
Even if you could fuse them, there’s no guarantee that the two halves could send useful information back and forth.
"There is no evidence that the connectivity of cord and brain would lead to useful sentient or motor function following head transplantation," Richard Borgens, director of the Center for Paralysis Research at Purdue University, told New Scientist.
Canavero’s procedure would require patients to lie in a coma for up to four weeks while the spinal cords were fusing together, to ensure they don’t get twisted out of place during movement.
That’s also a potential problem, says Harry Goldsmith, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Davis. Medically induced comas are usually a last resort for doctors, as they carry some risk of blood clots, infection, and reduced brain activity.
The surgery would also be a difficult one. If the brain goes without oxygen for too long, it could die.
And we haven’t even gotten started on the ethical issues—like who should get a full-body transplant, when that body could have helped so many people waiting for ? donations? Or how does putting your head on someone else’s body affect your sense of self?
These problems may be worked out someday. But not within the next few years. Scientists will first have to solve these problems in animal models before head transplantation ever moves into human trials.
That could take many years, if it ever happens at all.
"There is no way this will happen by 2017, in the US at least," says Shores.
While Canavero has mentioned trialling the research in other countries where scientific and ethical regulations aren't so strict, Shores advises against it.
"There are countries where people have done some crazy transplants of things like hands and a leg combined that have resulted in the death of the patient."
Goldsmith, similarly, doesn't see it happening any time soon. “I don’t want to say it’s impossible, but I think this is going to be an extremely difficult project ... “When you think of all this happening within the next 24 months, it seems highly unlikely.” -
? you Vibe
-
First day cop. For real.
-
Ted Williams was a head of his time
-
No wonder black bodies alwats end up missing
The future kardashian crackers won't need to stiff their face and ass with fat
Theyll jus take a black face or a black body lol -
Arent there a couple hundred dead rich peoples heads in a freezer somewhere since the 70s waiting on a 'breakthrough' like this?
-
I mean I could see it being a ? sent if you were in a horrific crash that left your body completely paralysed. From the chest down. If you're able to get a new body, why not?
You really want another man's body? Maybe in the future they can grow a body by taking a sample of your face tissue and it would be your own body, but another man's body? I would rather be dead mayne.
![[Deleted User]](https://w1.vanillicon.com/v2/15efd8efe08bb34aae25f1808aaf5018.svg)
