In the heart of Dallas, a team of visionaries has challenged the boundaries of modern medicine, creating a device no bigger than a shoebox that has the power to keep the human brain alive and beating. And this regardless of the body that hosts it.
A device that challenges nature
A group of researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center has made a leap forward in neurological research by developing a device that can isolate blood flow to the brain, keeping it alive and functioning separately from the rest of the body for several hours.
This invention, which seems to come out of the pages of a science fiction novel, could open new avenues for the study of the human brain, freed from the influences of other bodily functions.
Cardiopulmonary bypass devices (we talked about it here) replicate some functions of the heart and lungs, providing a continuous flow of oxygenated blood throughout the body. Instead, this new device delivers blood using a pulsating flow, much like the human heart, a difference that could prevent brain-related side effects sometimes caused by cardiopulmonary bypass machines.
A team driven by a vision
The device was tested using a pig brain model and described in Scientific Reports (I'll link the search here). In the animal model, using anesthesia, the researchers diverted the blood supply to the brain through a pump that maintained or regulated a number of variables, including blood pressure, volume, temperature, oxygenation and nutrients . They found that brain activity and other measurements had little to no change over a period five hours.
John Paschal, professor of neurology, pediatrics and physiology at UT Southwestern and first author, doesn't beat around the bush:
Our innovative method enables research that focuses on the brain independently of the body, allowing us to answer physiological questions in a way that has never been done before.
Brain kept alive: why it matters
The brain, as you know, is a bit of a "director" of the body: it controls many processes, from heart rate to breathing, to sleep and wake cycles and more. However, its function is influenced by factors that originate in the body, such as blood sugar, blood pressure and oxygenation. Until now, there has been no way to separate the brain from the body to study these influences.
Isolating the brain will allow researchers to manipulate inputs to this organ to study how brain function changes without the body's influence. For example, Dr. Pascual and his colleagues have already used this system to better understand the effects of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in the absence of other factors. Although scientists can induce hypoglycemia by restricting food intake in laboratory animals or by giving them insulin, the body can partially compensate for both of these scenarios by altering metabolism, and this, in turn, alters the brain. Instead, the new device allows researchers to directly change the glucose content in the blood pumped to the brain.
One step forward, very forward. Too?
The possibility of keeping the brain functioning outside the body raises not only scientific, but also philosophical and ethical questions. What does this mean for our understanding of humans and consciousness? This research could one day influence how we treat neurological diseases, and even death itself.
As a society, are we ready for the challenges that such technologies might present? The discussion on these issues is as important as the research itself and requires an open dialogue between scientists, philosophers, ethicists and… you.
Let us know on our social channels what you think.
