[ExI] Brain Death "paused"

[John Clark]

On Wed, Apr 17, 2019 at 3:18 PM SR Ballard <sen.otaku at gmail.com> wrote:

> NatGeo has come out with an interesting article :
>
> https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/04/pig-brains-partially-revived-what-it-means-for-medicine-death-ethics/
>


"Scientists have restored cellular function in 32 pig brains that had been
> dead for hours, opening up a new avenue in treating brain disease"
>

The scientists involved said they were worried about the brain becoming
conscious 4 hours after the pigs were killed in a slaughterhouse, so in the
solution they pumped through the brain that provided oxygen sugars and
other nutrients they included a drug that inhibits organized 3D brain
activity. And they employed a bioethicist ready to administer an anesthetic
if they saw any sign of consciousness, which they didn't. Nobody knows what
would have happened if the inhibiting drug had not been used.

So although there was no sign of organized brain activity (and you wouldn't
expect to find any with that inhibiting drug used) the individual cells
regained metabolic activity and in the case of neurons electrical
activity.

 John K Clark
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