For the first time doctors receive pig brain without a body for longer

Recent research will soon lead to expanding our life expectancy?

Researchers have managed to keep a pig brain alive for up to 36 hours without a body. Of course, this announcement has led to excitement and ethical concerns in many people. If such a process worked with human brains, it could open up new ways of extending life expectancy.

Scientists at the internationally acclaimed Yale University have successfully kept pigs' brains alive for up to 36 hours without their bodies in their current research. A critically appraised project, but at the same time demonstrating the possibilities of modern medicine.

The brain is an extremely complex system. Will it be possible in the future to keep a brain without a body alive? This has already been achieved in pigs. (Image: eranicle / fotolia.com)

Brain was revived technically

For the study, the experts conducted studies on between 100 and 200 pigs from a slaughterhouse. With the help of a system of artificial blood, heaters and pumps, the team succeeded in restoring circulation to the brains of pigs who were beheaded about four hours earlier. The technology used kept the revived brains alive for up to 36 hours. While there was no evidence that these brains were conscious, so-called EEG scans showed that the brains triggered a shallow brain wave, similar to a non-responsive, comatose brain, the authors of the study explain.

The scientists found that billions of individual brain cells in the brains were healthy and capable of normal activity. At least in a simplistic sense, the organ was technically revived. Actually, the technical process resembles the preservation of a kidney, the experts explain to MIT Technology Review.

Results have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal

A reservation in the results of the current research work is that the physicians have not yet published them in a peer-reviewed journal. But they have already submitted the results of the study and the authors of the study stated that they are not prepared to publish further details about the experiment until a complete publication is available.

Research leads to ethical debates

Since the beginning of the year, there is a growing group of scientists and physicians who are excitedly discussing the Yale University project. In addition to opening ethical debates about whether similarly treated human brains should be considered alive, the research would benefit further investigation in the laboratory. Experts could closely examine intact and healthy brains.

Why was the experiment performed??

The technique was developed to construct a comprehensive atlas of connections between human brain cells. In addition, the results should help to develop better models or possibly even disassembled test organs for diseases such as Alzheimer's and brain tumors.

Process is similar to a transplant

But how does the process actually work? Unfortunately, the available data on the experiment are still very low. Apparently, the brain is connected to a closed loop of tubes that circulate heated artificial blood through the vessels of the brain so that oxygen can even flow to cells deep in the brain. This is similar to the way scientists conserve other organs (such as the heart or lungs) for transplantation.

Appropriate framework for future research must be created

This week, an editorial was published in the journal Nature, in which the authors argue that we need new rules and protections for experiments on human brains. However, the difficult ethical discussion should not lead to investigations being stopped on this topic, explain the scientists. To ensure the long-term success and social acceptance of this research, however, an appropriate ethical framework must now be created, the experts add. (As)