Head transplants are designed to give people with degenerative diseases access to a healthy body, thus improving their quality of life.
So far, human head transplantation has not yet been performed, but there are already several people requesting transplantation, however, since the 1950s, doctors and scientists have performed head transplants on animals, such as dogs and monkeys, but the results have not been met.has been very satisfying.
- The main risk of head transplantation is spinal cord damage.
- As surgery requires disrupting the connection between the marrow and the head.
- So scientists have studied substances and ways to reconstruct this connection and prevent loss of movement in transplanted patients.
The first head transplant was performed on a puppy in the 1950s by a Soviet physician.The doctor created a two-headed dog, i.e. transplanted a dog’s head into a completely healthy head.The two-headed dog survived a few days after death.A few years later, an American doctor decided to transplant a monkey’s head, but the animal’s survival after surgery was very short, about a day and a half after the operation, the monkey died.
In 2015, an Italian physician stated that it was possible to perform a head transplant in humans and that the first transplant would be performed by the end of 2017; In addition, he stated that he had already performed a head transplant on corpses and that this had been a success, however, in the case of corpses, it is not possible to assess the possible consequences of a head transplant, which is why the neurosurgeon has received several criticisms related to medical ethics.
The head transplant proposed by the Italian doctor has the support of Chinese doctors and scientists and, theoretically, it is carried out with the aim of allowing people with degenerative diseases that cause muscle atrophy and make movement impossible, such as the syndrome of Werdnig-Hoffman, for example, begin to have a healthy body, without limitation of movement. Learn more about Werdnig-Hoffman syndrome.
The head is transplanted into the body of a donor who has suffered brain death but is in good health.The head and spinal cord of the donated body freeze between -10 and -15 degrees Celsius to prevent cell death until they are re-directed.with a certain substance In addition, the person should remain in an induced coma for 3 to 4 weeks, to prevent movement, and use immunosuppressive drugs to avoid any type of rejection and thus prevent death.After the induced coma, the person will need constant physiotherapy sessions to relearn the movements.
According to the neurosurgeon, the transplant would cost millions of dollars, require a team of about 150 doctors, and last about 36 hours.
Human head transplantation has not yet been performed, so it is still a theoretical procedure, however, many people request a transplant to improve their quality of life.
The greatest risk of head transplantation, in addition to death, is permanent loss of movement, as to perform the operation it is necessary to interrupt the connection between the spinal cord and the brain.To avoid this risk, scientists have discovered a substance capable of acting as a glue, polyethylene glycol or PEG, thus connecting the brain to the spinal cord.
PEG has already been used in experiments with dogs, monkeys and mice whose spinal cord has been compromised, these animals were treated with PEG and within a year were able to walk normally, however, PEG has not yet been used for this purpose in humans., and therefore it is not known whether this substance is capable of regenerating, in fact, the connection between the spinal cord and the brain, which will be observed when performing a head transplant.