An institutional review board in the U.S. and India recently granted ethical permission to a biotech company, allowing them to conduct a highly controversial study titled the ReAnima Project involving the use of stem cells in an attempt to reactivate the brains of brain-dead patients. According to a report in the UK publication The Telegraph, by next year this study plans to stimulate the nervous system of 20 brain-dead patients using a combination of therapies on the participants.
Therapies include injecting the brain with stem cells, giving the spinal cord infusions of chemicals and using nerve stimulation techniques that have been shown to bring patients out of comas. Patients will be monitored using brain imaging equipment looking specifically at the upper spinal cord, which is the lowest region of the brain stem controlling breathing and heartbeat.
“This represents the first trial of its kind and another step towards the eventual reversal of death in our lifetime,” Dr. Ira Pastor, the CEO of Bioquark Inc. said to The Telegraph.
I must note that there are many others in the scientific community who find the idea of brain-death reversal rather far-fetched. Though there have been cases that suggest that the brain has the ability to regenerate, much of the basis of this research comes from observations of other species in the animal kingdom such as some amphibians and fish who can repair, regenerate and remodel substantial portions of their brain and brain stem even after critical trauma.
In the case of this study on humans, much of the foundation comes from increased knowledge and study of the human brain and nervous system. Bodies of brain-dead humans can still circulate blood, digest food, excrete waste, balance hormones, grow, heal wounds, spike a fever and deliver a baby when kept alive through life support. Also, some studies suggest that, though it is not enough for a whole body to function, some blood flow and electrical activity continue after brain cell death.
So what does the approval of this study mean for the scientific community? In my research, I have come across many mixed responses. However, most do not want to delve anywhere into the area of giving new life to the dead. As you would imagine, some are worried about the zombie apocalypse, while others are more concerned about the onset of the rapture. It is truly a controversial study with unpredictable results.
The first stage of the ReAnima Project will be named The First In Human Neuro-Regeneration & Neuro-Reanimation and will be a non-randomized, single group proof of concept. Proof of concept is defined as a demonstration, the purpose of which is to verify that certain concepts or theories have the potential for real-world application. This means that this experiment is in a very early stage of development.
The likelihood of this study resulting in the reversal of brain death is fairly low. However, the concept sounds like something that jumped straight out of a science fiction novel. I do not know how I feel about the idea of reanimation of the dead, but I am curious to see what comes of the attempt.
