In November 2017, foreign media were shocked by the news of the world's first human head transplant operation. A little later, the sensation quickly spread through Russian information channels. The operation was carried out by a group of Chinese specialists at Harbin University. The process was led by Dr. Ren Xiaoping. The manipulation lasted about 18 hours and, according to Xiaoping, was successful. The doctors connected the elements of the spine, blood vessels and nerves, but, of course, did not resuscitate the “patient”: at this stage of the development of science, this is impossible.
Sergio Canavero: populist or popularizer of science?
Sergio Canavero is a famous surgeon from Italy. After the operation took place in China, he began to actively promote the news in scientific circles and popularize it among the masses. According to Dr. Canavero, he has long been developing proprietary techniques that will later help him perform a human head transplant - so that the head fits into the body and finds a “second life.” Canavero enthusiastically told people about the achievements of his Chinese colleagues and the essence of the experiment they conducted. He assured the public that he would certainly become the first surgeon who would be destined to save a human life in this way. In numerous interviews, he said that he was writing a serious scientific work on the topic of surgery and transplantology. This scientific work he promised to finish it soon and publish it for a wide audience.
Back in 2013, the Italian openly announced his desire to conduct a head transplant experiment. After the success of his Chinese colleagues, the doctor was inspired and spoke with confidence about the reality of such an operation in the near future. He constantly referred to research allegedly conducted by him and boldly gave optimistic forecasts for the near future.
This is interesting!
There were rumors that Canavero had already invented a unique gel that connects the smallest nerve cells spine.
The Italian’s main promise was that he was ready to perform such an operation, and it would take place in the near future. The scientific community was critical of such bold statements. Colleagues called Canavero a populist who simply wants to “promote himself” on an experimental operation carried out in China and earn cheap popularity from it. The culmination was Canavero's announcement that he was looking for a volunteer willing to experiment. A volunteer was found: Russian citizen, programmer Valery Spiridonov.
Valery Spiridonov and his story
After a head was transplanted from one dead body to another for the first time in China, Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov had hope that surgeons would continue their work. After Canavero’s statement about his desire to “transplant heads,” Valery immediately responded to such a proposal. Young man suffering serious illness and is confined to a wheelchair. Valery has Werdnig-Hoffmann syndrome, with complete atrophy of the back muscles. He can hardly move, and the disease progresses every year. It is not surprising that Valery, trusting the bold statements of a certified doctor, so easily believed in the reality of the “miracle”. Sergio Canavero personally met with the young man. This allowed the surgeon to see his determination. The doctor’s conversation with a potential patient made an impression on the world community, but the head transplant to the Russian programmer did not take place - neither in 2018 nor later. If you really look at things, such intervention is impossible in the near future, based on the following reasons:
It is difficult to find a donor body;
- world science has not yet “grown up” to such transplantations;
- it is hard to imagine psychological situation, through which the patient will have to go.
They say that the operation could not take place because foreign specialists refused to operate on a patient from Russia. This is wrong. In many ways last news, associated with Valery, are incorrect - partly because of the populism that Canavero was engaged in. On the one hand, the programmer was “unlucky”, so the story has a sad ending: he is destined to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. But if you really look at things, carrying out such an operation is technically impossible either in 2018 or 2019. It may take decades to implement it into reality - and it is not a fact that such a practice will immediately become successful.
Is a head transplant possible: comments from Russian scientists
Sometimes Russian scientists are reproached for the fact that they lag behind their foreign colleagues in many respects. This is not entirely fair, because domestic transplantology is slightly inferior to foreign ones. Our specialists can transplant heads from one dead body to another no worse than the Chinese, but they do not consider this a “miraculous operation.” Canavero managed to make a sensation out of the experiment, reassuring many seriously ill patients, but he overdid it in his desire to become famous and popular. Experimental operations are one thing, real work when human life is in your hands is another. Russian surgeon Alexey Zhao believes that between experimental and real surgical interventions there is a huge period of time. Of course, the Italian Canavero can be called a populist, but it was he who aroused people’s interest in the topic of treating patients who are completely immobilized. When separating the head from the body, surgeons have to deal with a complete rupture of the cervical spinal cord. There is no problem in sewing a head to another body. But even if the operation is successful, and the surgeon does everything anatomically correct, the body will not “obey” the other head. The limbs and shoulders will remain motionless, so the operation does not make any sense.
The surgeon can connect large great vessels neck. The patient's kidneys and heart will work for some time, but the connections between the central nervous system and it will not be a body, because its main element is the spinal cord, severed in the neck area. It is not yet possible to restore this gap and the function of the spinal cells. Even if a person survives the operation, he will not be able to control the processes of urination and take care of himself.
Axons are processes of nerve cells that sometimes reach a meter in length. These processes carry impulses from cells to vital important bodies. The structure of axons is so complex that it is impossible to restore them “manually”. It remains theoretically to assume that it is possible to create a unique material that could connect them. The gel that the Italian Canavero mentioned in his populist lectures does not yet exist. It will take decades to create such material, and no single specialist can do it alone.
A little history: Vladimir Demikhov and his two-headed dog
The Russian school of transplantology emerged in the late 40s of the last century. Biologist Vladimir Demikhov founded an experimental laboratory in which he and his followers were engaged in transplantology. They conducted experiments on animals. One of the adult dogs received not only the head of another puppy, but also part of his body. The puppy's torso was connected through the great arteries adult dog to her heart and lungs. After the operation, the two-headed dog lived for about two weeks. The puppy's head could eat, drink and react to the world. Subsequently, Demikhov created several more two-headed dogs. Unfortunately, all the animals lived no more than two weeks. At that time, transplantology was just beginning its development path. Scientists did not know that the body rejects all foreign bodies, producing immune cells. When scientists began to practice heart transplants, they began to develop immunosuppressants. These are drugs that the recipient must take constantly to prevent rejection of the donor's organ.
Fun fact!
A stuffed animal of one of Demikhov’s two-headed dogs is among the exhibits of the State Biological Museum named after K.A. Timiryazev in Moscow.
Sklifosovsky Institute: research continues
At the Sklifosovsky Institute in Moscow, Dr. Sergio Canavero is called a talented hoaxer who spoke a lot about the creation unique substance for connecting spinal cell processes. The ambitious Italian never created anything. Director of the Research Institute named after. Sklifosovsky Anzor Khubutia claims that a group of Russian scientists is working at the institute - just to create such a composition. This group is led by the chief neurosurgeon of Moscow V.V. Krylov. He is developing a range of cellular technologies that could help restore health in the future. neural connections- including with a complete rupture cervical spine spinal cord.V.V. Krylov does not like to tell journalists about the results of his work, unlike the Italian surgeon. Moreover, it is too early to talk about the results, because the research is only at the beginning of its journey. The task of Russian scientists is to ensure that nerve tissues become comparable to each other. The main thing is to ensure the transition of the pathways from the brain to the spinal cord in order to establish a connection between the central nervous system and all organs. As a material, scientists take spinal cord stem cells, which can take on certain functions of the body. In the next 10 to 50 years, researchers want to find out whether stem cells can improve the nutrition of damaged neurons enough to completely restore them.
Is it possible to transplant the head of a living person onto another body and how did it end in the case of Valery Spiridonov? Valery's story, unfortunately, had no continuation. Probably, the research of Russian scientists will not allow us to put an end to it, and the dreams of the ambitious Italian surgeon will one day become a reality.
For the first time in China, a head was transplanted from one dead person to another. Initially, it was planned that the head of Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov would be transplanted onto the donor’s body, but the story had a sad ending. The surgeon refused to operate on a patient from Russia.
On Friday, November 17, the world's first human head transplant took place in China. True, the head was transplanted from one dead body to another.
The purpose of such a transplant was to successfully connect the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels. And as surgeon Sergio Canavero assured, he succeeded quite successfully. Previously, it was planned to transplant the head of Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov. But this story ended sadly - the operation was cancelled.
The beginning of the story
Let us recall that at the beginning of 2015, Italian doctor Sergio Canavero announced that he was ready to transplant a head from a living volunteer onto a donor body. Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov saw this information and could not help but respond. The fact is that Spiridonov is suffering congenital disease- Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome. Because of this, his back muscles have almost completely atrophied. That is, the 32-year-old guy is practically immobilized, and over time this situation gets worse. The surgeon met with Valery personally and became convinced of the sincerity of his intentions and his willingness to take risks.
Fact! Despite the fact that Valery practically cannot move without the help of a wheelchair, he leads an active life. The guy has been working since he was 16 years old, he is a successful programmer. Travels a lot, constantly communicates with interesting people. Therefore, as he himself said in an interview, you should not think that he wants to die in this way.
The operation was scheduled for December 2017. The doctor and patient had no doubt that finding a donor would be difficult. But it is possible, because every day people get into fatal car accidents, and some are sentenced to death. It was among them that it was planned to find a donor body.
However, these plans never came to fruition. The fact is that the sponsor of the operation, the Chinese Government, insists that the patient be a citizen of this country. In addition, it is important that the donor is the same race as the patient. It is not possible to transplant Spiridonov's head onto the Chinese body. That is why all preparations for the operation had to be frozen. And it’s difficult to say whether Spiridonov will be operated on in the future.
The essence of the operation
Previously, Sergio conducted similar successful experiments only on mice. He transplanted the head from one mouse to another. But the operation to transplant the head of a monkey was unsuccessful. Firstly, the spinal cord was not connected, only blood vessels. Secondly, the animal then experienced severe suffering, and doctors had to euthanize it after 20 hours. This is why many scientists are horrified by what Ganavero is planning to do.
The surgeon himself is very optimistic. He states that he will definitely do similar operations again. In addition, in the future he plans to transplant the brain of an elderly person into the body of a young donor. This means, according to him, it will be possible to defeat death.
This is interesting! It was previously stated that the operation to transplant a living human head would last 36 hours. Afterwards, the patient must be placed in an artificial coma for 4 weeks. And after this time, he will be injected with strong immunosuppressants to prevent his body from rejecting his head.
Russian scientists also have grandiose plans in this direction. They want to learn how to replant by 2025 human brain into the robot's body. This will help make a significant breakthrough in the field of science.
And in the story with the Russian programmer Valery Spiridonov, everything is quite sad. The promised head transplant has not yet taken place. Although this may not be the end yet.
Expert: “This is very nice PR!”
Italian surgeon Sergio Canavero performed a human head transplant in China. According to him - successful. Meanwhile, the public is perplexed, because we are talking about a head transplant to a corpse. Why transplant a head into a corpse?
Canavero became famous in Russia after programmer Valery Spiridonov, suffering from a serious illness,...
Now Canavero has refused this operation. According to Spiridonov, the surgeon received funding specifically in China and specifically for certain type experiments...
Russian doctors called the current news about a “successful head transplant” a beautiful PR campaign.
From a PR point of view, this is a very smart move, they are pure adventurers,” Dmitry Suslov, head of the laboratory of experimental surgery of the Pavlov State Medical University of St. Petersburg, told MK. “In fact, the operation that Canavero performed was a training presented as a world sensation.
The expert said that similar training operations are carried out by all transplant surgeries in any country in the world that can boast of success in this most complex field of medicine. Moreover, it is mainly young doctors who practice on corpses, who are still afraid to let near a living body.
“We can’t talk about any success here,” Suslov noted. “They took a dead head and sewed it to a dead body.” The only thing we can talk about here is that they worked accurately and sewed it in a purely technically competent manner.
Russian doctors also do not dare talk about any discoveries during the operation. Most of the actions that are needed to sew a head to a body should be perfected to the point of automaticity by any self-respecting surgeon. The vascular suture should be almost eyes closed do any doctor who performs operations on the heart and blood vessels. Sutures on large nerves are for neurosurgeons.
As for the past “merits” of the Canavero team, which was also noisily discussed by the whole world - transplanting a head to a monkey, here the doctors also just shake their heads skeptically. According to them, maintaining life in the severed head of an animal is an experiment from the beginning of the last century. The then researchers in white coats were very good at such manipulations.
However, our transplantology still left a small chance of victory in the future for foreign adventurers. Theoretically, it is possible to transplant a head to a living person. And there is even a chance that after the operation both the head and the rest of the body will function normally. But to do this, you will have to make a real scientific breakthrough - learn how to fuse spinal cord neurons.
If someone manages to do this, it will Nobel Prize, says Suslov, “A huge number of people with spinal injuries will have a chance to get back on their feet and live a full life. But so far such experiments have only been carried out on rats. And at the moment we have only a partial understanding of how this should be done.
@gubernia33
In 2015, Italian doctor Sergio Canavero announced his intention to perform a human head transplant. Despite the fact that attempts to carry out such a transplant have been ongoing since the beginning of the 20th century, no one had previously decided to conduct an experiment with the participation of a living person.
Head transplant to Valery Spiridonov
Valery Spiridonov, a programmer from Russia, wanted to become the first patient. He was diagnosed with a rare hereditary disease– Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome, which causes the destruction of spinal cord cells. Valery is almost completely paralyzed, and his condition only worsens over time.
The essence of the procedure
The head was going to be transplanted onto the body of a donor, who they planned to look for among the people who died in car accident or those sentenced to death. The main difficulty is how to connect the spinal cord fibers of the donor and recipient. Canavero stated that he would use polyethylene glycol for these purposes, a substance that, according to research data, can help restore neural connections.
After the operation, the patient was planned to be put into a coma, which would last 4 weeks, in order to immobilize the person while the head and body healed. During this time, electrical stimulation of the spinal cord will be performed to strengthen neural connections with the brain.
After the patient comes out of the coma, he will need to take drugs that suppress the immune system - immunosuppressants. This is necessary to prevent the head from being torn away from the body. There is reason to believe that during rehabilitation a person will need the help of a psychologist.
The operation with the participation of a Russian programmer was planned for 2017.
How did the experiment end?
Sergio Canavero was looking for sources of funding for his medical project, but these attempts did not lead to results for a long time. European and American universities refused to conduct the experiment. Funding was offered by the Chinese government, and the operation was planned to be carried out on the basis of Harbin University together with Professor Ren Xiaoping.
The Chinese government insisted that the donor be a citizen of their country. The surgery requires that the donor and recipient be of the same race. On this basis, Canavero denied Valery Spiridonov the opportunity to participate in the first human head transplant operation.
In November 2017, Canavero announced he was performing a head transplant on a dead person. The operation ended well - doctors were able to connect the spine, nerves and blood vessels of the donor and recipient. Many experts in this field are skeptical about this experiment as a scientific breakthrough, because... they believe that surgery on corpses is of little indication for possible repetition with the participation of a living patient.
History of head transplant experiments
The first head transplant was performed in 1908 by Charles Guthrie. He sewed a second head to the dog's body and connected their circulatory systems. Scientists observed primitive reflexes in the second head, and after a few hours the dog was euthanized.
A major contribution was made by the Soviet scientist Vladimir Demikhov, who conducted experiments in the 1950s. He ensured that the dog lived 29 days after the operation. She also showed more abilities after the experiment. The difference was that Demikhov also transplanted the forelimbs, esophagus and lungs.
In 1970, Robert White performed head transplants on monkeys. Scientists managed to maintain blood flow in the head during separation, which allowed, after connecting with circulatory system donor to keep the brain alive. The animals lived for several days.
In the early 2000s. Japanese scientists performed transplantation on rats. They connected the spinal cord using low temperatures.
The ability of polyethylene glycol and chitosan to restore nerve cells in the spinal cord was proven by studies conducted in Germany in 2014. Under the influence of these substances, rats that were paralyzed demonstrated the ability to move within a month.
Scientists from Russia plan to carry out an operation to transplant a human brain into a robot body by 2025.
