Thursday, April 18, 2019

Dead pigs and live brain cells--with implications still to be understood

Dramatic scientific announcements get press coverage before they are well (or at all) understood, but that can still be exciting.  Here's some press coverage of an article that was published yesterday in Nature about restoring some cellular activity in the brains of pigs which had been slaughtered and decapitated.  It may eventually have implications for brain injuries, brain death and (hence) deceased organ donation.
(The Nature article and two commentaries published with it are also linked below.)

NY Times:
In research that upends assumptions about brain death, researchers brought some cells back to life — or something like it.

"In a study that raises profound questions about the line between life and death, researchers have restored some cellular activity to brains removed from slaughtered pigs.

"The brains did not regain anything resembling consciousness: There were no signs indicating coordinated electrical signaling, necessary for higher functions like awareness and intelligence.

"But in an experimental treatment, blood vessels in the pigs’ brains began functioning, flowing with a blood substitute, and certain brain cells regained metabolic activity, even responding to drugs. When the researchers tested slices of treated brain tissue, they discovered electrical activity in some neurons."

Washington Post:
Scientists restore some brain cell functions in pigs four hours after death
Ethicists advise caution with research that blurs the line between life and death.


Researchers 'reboot' pig brains hours after animals died
Scientists say ability to revive some brain functions will not change definition of death

And here's the article in Nature:
Published: 17 April 2019

Restoration of brain circulation and cellular functions hours post-mortem
Naturevolume 568, pages336–343 (2019) | Download Citation

Here are two commentaries published in the same issue of Nature:
Part-revived pig brains raise slew of ethical quandaries
Researchers need guidance on animal use and the many issues opened up by a new study on whole-brain restoration, argue Nita A. Farahany, Henry T. Greely and Charles M. Giattino.

Pig experiment challenges assumptions around brain damage in people

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