Surgeon performs monkey head transplant

[Still Waters]

An Italian surgeon who plans to perform the world's first head transplant on a human says he has succeeded in performing the procedure on a monkey.

Dr Sergio Canavero claims that he performed the shocking experiment at Harbin Medical University in China, and said: 'The monkey fully survived the procedure without any neurological injury of whatever kind.'

https://uk.news.yaho...-121305145.html

Related thread -

Human head transplant will soon be ready

claims Italian surgeon

http://www.unexplain...howtopic=278528

[Iron_Lotus]

yeahhhh i doubt that monkey survived Dr Frankensteins surgery.

[Uncle Sam]

There is way to many nerves, muscles, veins, and finally spinal cord running from head to body. I have not heard of any successful procedure fixing an broken spinal injury by reattaching nerves. This is quite a leap if it is true which I highly doubt, I think it is more of a hoax instead of a real deal.

[Galactic Goatman]

Some guy did this years ago, I forget his name, but he basically did it FOR SCIENCE. The monkeys, btw, lived only a couple of hours.

[pallidin]

Some guy did this years ago, I forget his name, but he basically did it FOR SCIENCE. The monkeys, btw, lived only a couple of hours.

I seem to recall that as well. Like you said, the monkey(s?) only lived for a short while... 2 or 3 hours... after the procedure.

[pallidin]

In 2002, other head transplants were also conducted in Japan in rats. Unlike the head transplants performed by Dr. White, however, these head transplants involved grafting one rat's head onto the body of another rat that kept its head. Thus, the rat ended up with two heads.^[9]The scientists said that the key to successful head transplants was to use low temperatures.^[10]

The ability of fusogens like PEG and chitosan to rebridge a transected spinal cord has been confirmed by a 2014 German study: paraplegic rats recovered motricity within 1 month.^[11]

In 2015, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has said the procedure (head anastomosis venture) might be feasible – with improved technology and more accurate ability to keep neural tissue perfused – before end of 2017, which is when he intends to perform the procedure in either the United States or China.^[12][13]

A 30-year-old Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov with Werdnig–Hoffmann disease (type I spinal muscular atrophy) and rapidly declining health has volunteered to offer his head for the study.^[14]

^{https://en.wikipedia...Head_transplant}

Edited January 20, 2016 by pallidin

[Dark_Grey]

I don't think we're there yet. Getting close, maybe, but is our understanding of the spinal cord and nerve endings and the brain stem really up this level?

[pallidin]

From the same article...

On March 14, 1970,^[5] a group of scientists from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio,^[4] led by Robert J. White, a neurosurgeon and a professor of neurological surgery who was inspired by the work of Vladimir Demikhov, performed a highly controversial operation to transplant the head of one monkey onto another's body.

The procedure was a success to some extent, with the animal being able to smell, taste, hear, and see the world around it. The operation involved cauterizing arteries and veins carefully while the head was being severed to prevent hypovolemia.

Because the nerves were left entirely intact, connecting the brain to a blood supply kept it chemically alive. The animal survived for some time after the operation, even at times attempting to bite some of the staff.^[6] In 2001, Dr. White successfully repeated the operation on a monkey.^[7]

Edited January 20, 2016 by pallidin

[pallidin]

I don't think we're there yet. Getting close, maybe, but is our understanding of the spinal cord and nerve endings and the brain stem really up this level?

Yeah, definitely hard to say. I would be hesitant. But there appears to be some evidence of "auto-reconnection" after transplant, at least to some degree in rats if the general transplant "connection" is within certain tolerances...

The ability of fusogens like PEG and chitosan to rebridge a transected spinal cord has been confirmed by a 2014 German study: paraplegic rats recovered motricity within 1 month.^[11]

[Duke Wellington]

There is way to many nerves, muscles, veins, and finally spinal cord running from head to body. I have not heard of any successful procedure fixing an broken spinal injury by reattaching nerves. This is quite a leap if it is true which I highly doubt, I think it is more of a hoax instead of a real deal.

Spinal cords heal, the problem is scar tissue as it doesn't conduct signals.

I think they were on about gluing the two halfs together which results in 40% of signals making it past the scar tissue zone. Will it be enough to walk?

Edited January 20, 2016 by RabidMongoose

[Ell]

Totally without any conscience, those psychopaths.

[MJNYC]

Beyond disgusting. No morals at all.

We have no right to do this to any living being, least of all a primate. The man should be put in jail for cruelty to animals at the very least.

https://youtu.be/vXJGmnq8YMs

https://youtu.be/vOVS9zotSqM

Edited January 20, 2016 by MJNYC

[pallidin]

Beyond disgusting. No morals at all.

We have no right to do this to any living being, least of all a primate. The man should be put in jail for cruelty to animals at the very least.

https://youtu.be/vXJGmnq8YMs

https://youtu.be/vOVS9zotSqM

I feel that anything done to non-humans in the focus of dealing with human disease and death should be, without question, permitted.

[pallidin]

How can I say this?

Umm... I refuse to have a rat, bunny or any sub-human creature be excluded from HARD experimentation to deal with HUMAN life.

That's my opinion.

[MJNYC]

How can I say this?

Umm... I refuse to have a rat, bunny or any sub-human creature be excluded from HARD experimentation to deal with HUMAN life.

That's my opinion.

And my opinion is that we have no right at all to experiment on or to cause harm to any living creature. What gives us that right? Because we can?

Machiavellian; any means to an end.

[Ell]

A 30-year-old Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov with Werdnig–Hoffmann disease (type I spinal muscular atrophy) and rapidly declining health has volunteered to offer his head for the study.^[14]

Suicide by transplantation.

People ought to understand that if they are slated for death, they ought to die. Any transplantation is evil.

[Duke Wellington]

I feel that anything done to non-humans in the focus of dealing with human disease and death should be, without question, permitted.

I think we should be using criminals for it not animals.

But because that isn't allowed it will have to be mice, monkeys and rabbits. So long as they are given the appropriate drugs.

[Talion78]

I think we should be using criminals for it not animals.

couldn't agree more there is more than enough scum on this planet, that could do with a bit of experimenting on to help the rest of the human race.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Talion78

[little_dreamer]

Sounds like animal cruelty to me. Someone needs to call the cops.

[Harte]

There is way to many nerves, muscles, veins, and finally spinal cord running from head to body. I have not heard of any successful procedure fixing an broken spinal injury by reattaching nerves. This is quite a leap if it is true which I highly doubt, I think it is more of a hoax instead of a real deal.

New Methods Could Speed Up Repair Of Injured Nerves

The scientists say they've developed a technique that reconnects the severed ends of a nerve, allowing it to begin carrying messages again very quickly. Usually, severed nerves must regrow from the point of injury — a process that can take months, if it ever happens.

Source

Harte

[Harte]

And my opinion is that we have no right at all to experiment on or to cause harm to any living creature. What gives us that right? Because we can?

Machiavellian; any means to an end.

Life for life, any human life is more valuable.

Besides, we're not doing it because we "can." That is what would be sadistic.

Harte

[Bavarian Raven]

Beyond disgusting. No morals at all.

We have no right to do this to any living being, least of all a primate. The man should be put in jail for cruelty to animals at the very least.

https://youtu.be/vXJGmnq8YMs

https://youtu.be/vOVS9zotSqM

So you say, until somebody you love "could" have been saved, had only experiments like this taken place.

[Galactic Goatman]

I seem to recall that as well. Like you said, the monkey(s?) only lived for a short while... 2 or 3 hours... after the procedure.

The guy was kind of a nut, he also attached smaller dogs to the spinal columns of larger dogs to show that it was possible to surgically merge two independent beings.

[Oniomancer]

All I can say is if I was Rosey Grier, I'd start running about now.

[Peter B]

Suicide by transplantation.

People ought to understand that if they are slated for death, they ought to die. Any transplantation is evil.

Any transplantation is evil?

Even when a person agrees to be an organ donor after death? If, after my death, my heart or liver or corneas or kidneys or whatever would provide a new life or enhanced quality of life for one or many people, what's wrong with that?

Even if the donor would remain alive? If I was to donate one of my kidneys to a tissue matched person whose kidneys had failed, what's wrong with that?