[ExI] Will head transplants be the new life extension method?

[BillK]

Speculative at present I know, but Next Big Future has an article about it.

<http://nextbigfuture.com/2014/06/extreme-regenerative-medicine.html>

Quote:
The technical hurdles have now been cleared thanks to cell
engineering. As described in his paper, the keystone to successful
spinal cord linkage is the possibility to fuse the severed axons in
the cord by exploiting the power of membrane fusogens/sealants. Agents
exist that can reconstitute the membranes of a cut axon and animal
data have accrued since 1999 that restoration of axonal function is
possible. One such molecule is poly-ethylene glycol (PEG), a widely
used molecule with many applications from industrial manufacturing to
medicine, including as an excipient in many pharmaceutical products.
Another is chitosan, a polysaccharide used in medicine and other
fields.

HEAVEN capitalizes on a minimally traumatic cut of the spinal cord
using an ultra-sharp blade (very different from what occurs in the
setting of clinical spinal cord injury, where gross, extensive damage
and scarring is observed) followed within minutes by chemofusion
(GEMINI). The surgery is performed under conditions of deep
hypothermia for maximal protection of the neural tissue. Moreover, and
equally important, the motoneuronal pools contained in the cord grey
matter remain largely untouched and can be engaged by spinal cord
stimulation, a technique that has recently shown itself capable of
restoring at least some motor control in spinal injured subjects.
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BillK