脳死患者が蘇生する!? バイオ企業による禁断の実験「リアニマ・プロジェクト」が開始される＝インド
2016.05.20
英紙「Telegraph」（5月3日付）によると、脳死患者を試験的に蘇生させるという画期的なプロジェクトに対し、医療監視機関がGOサインを出したという。
■脳死者を蘇生させる「リアニマ・プロジェクト」とは
現在、脳死した人を蘇生させるための技術がアメリカで開発されているが、今回インドで倫理的問題がクリアされたため、「脳死者復活計画」が現実味を帯び始めた。これは「リアニマ・プロジェクト」と呼ばれ、アメリカとインドのバイオテクノロジー企業「バイオクオーク」と「レヴィータ・ライフ・サイエンシス」2社の協働により、インド・ウッタラーカンド州にあるアヌパム病院で実施される予定だ。
この研究では、脳の外的損傷により臨床的に脳死している20名に対し、ペプチド混合液を脊髄の中枢神経に毎日ポンプで注入。さらに2週間毎に幹細胞も投与し、それを6週間継続するという。また、昏睡状態にある患者を目覚めさせた実績のある神経刺激療法とレーザー照射も用いると発表されている。
この実験の被験者たちは、脳死判定を受けた後、ライフサポートでの延命状態に置かれている。実験の期間中、中枢神経系の一部が復活するかどうかを見逃さないよう彼らはMRIでモニターされる。特に、生命の維持に不可欠な呼吸や循環の制御機能を担っている脳の延髄（えんずい）部分に注目し、この機能の復活が蘇生への条件となる。
「バイオクオーク社」CEOであるイラ・パスター博士は「この史上初の試みは“脳死は回復できる”ことを証明するための足がかりとなるでしょう。最終的には、人類の死を反転させる可能性さえあります」と鼻息が荒い。まだ最初の患者20名を得たばかりではあるが「今後は病院とも連携し、『臓器提供をしたいが、宗教的理由や医学的制限によりできない』脳死患者の家族から了承を得て、どんどん患者をリクルートしていきたい」と抱負を語っている。
■「身体の一部機能を回復させるのとは訳が違う」という批判も
また、この科学者チームを率いる「レヴィータ・ライフ・サイエンシス」のヒマーンシュ・バンサル博士は、すでに中東とヨーロッパで、2人の患者に対してある程度成功の手応えを感じたと明かした上で「2、3カ月以内に最初の結果を報告できれば」と話している。
だが、一方でこの研究を疑問視する専門家もいる。イギリス・カーディフ大学センター・オブ・メディカル・エデュケーションの神経科学者ディーン・バーネット博士は、「“脳死からの再生”なんて、現在の神経科学レベルからみれば、あまりに先走りすぎているのではないでしょうか。身体の一部機能を回復させるのとは訳が違います」と警鐘を鳴らす。
確かに“少しだけ死んだ状態”で人間を生き返らせたりして問題ないのだろうか？ 試験運用ではあるものの、わずかに一線を越えてしまった人体実験のような危機感を募らせる人も少なくないだろう。脳機能の完全蘇生へ向けた研究は、いま始まったばかりだ。
（文＝佐藤Kay）
参考：「Telegraph」、ほか
参照元 ： TOCANA
Dead could be brought 'back to life' in groundbreaking project
Sarah Knapton, science editor
3 MAY 2016 • 12:15PM
A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people, has won approval from health watchdogs.
Indian specialist Dr Himanshu Bansal, working with Biotech companies Revita Life Sciences and Bioquark Inc, has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.
Scientists will use a combination of therapies, which include injecting the brain with stem cells and a cocktail of peptides, as well as deploying lasers and nerve stimulation techniques which have been shown to bring patients out of comas.
The trial participants will have been certified dead and only kept alive through life support. They will be monitored for several months using brain imaging equipment to look for signs of regeneration, particularly in the upper spinal cord - the lowest region of the brain stem which controls independent breathing and heartbeat.
The team believes that the brain stem cells may be able to erase their history and re-start life again, based on their surrounding tissue – a process seen in the animal kingdom in creatures like salamanders who can regrow entire limbs.
Dr Ira Pastor, the CEO of Bioquark Inc. said: “This represents the first trial of its kind and another step towards the eventual reversal of death in our lifetime.
“We just received approval for our first 20 subjects and we hope to start recruiting patients immediately from this first site – we are working with the hospital now to identify families where there may be a religious or medical barrier to organ donation.
"To undertake such a complex initiative, we are combining biologic regenerative medicine tools with other existing medical devices typically used for stimulation of the central nervous system, in patients with other severe disorders of consciousness.
“We hope to see results within the first two to three months."
The patients will be monitored using MRI scans for several months CREDIT: CHRONIS JONS
The ReAnima Project has just received approval in India, and the team plans to start recruiting patients immediately.
The first stage, named 'First In Human Neuro-Regeneration & Neuro-Reanimation' will be a non-randomised, single group 'proof of concept' and will take place at Anupam Hospital in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand India and is being led by Dr Himanshu Bansal of Revita Life Sciences.
Dr Bansal said he had already had some success with two patients in the Gulf and Europe.
"We have even offered the same protocol to a couple of brain dead subjects in Gulf and Europe," added Dr Bansal.
" They are still in minimal conscious state but who knows that they may come out and have reasonable conscious useful human life.
"We are now trying to create a definitive study in 20 subjects and prove that the brain death is reversible. This will open the door for future research and especially for people who loose there dear ones suddenly."
The peptides will be administered into the spinal cord daily via a pump, with the stem cells given bi-weekly, over the course of a 6 week period.
Dr Pastor added: "It is a long term vision of ours that a full recovery in such patients is a possibility, although that is not the focus of this first study – but it is a bridge to that eventuality."
Brain stem death is when a person no longer has any brain stem functions, and has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the capacity to breathe.
A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.
However, although brain dead humans are technically no longer alive, their bodies can often still circulate blood, digest food, excrete waste, balance hormones, grow, sexually mature, heal wounds, spike a fever, and gestate and deliver a baby.
Recent studies have also suggested that some electrical activity and blood flow continues after brain cell death, just not enough to allow for the whole body to function.
And while human beings lack substantial regenerative capabilities in the central nervous system, many non-human species, such as amphibians and certain fish, can repair, regenerate and remodel substantial portions of their brain and brain stem even after critical life-threatening trauma.
“Through our study, we will gain unique insights into the state of human brain death, which will have important connections to future therapeutic development for other severe disorders of consciousness, such as coma, and the vegetative and minimally conscious states, as well as a range of degenerative CNS conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease,” added Dr Sergei Paylian, Founder, President, and Chief Science Officer of Bioquark Inc.
Commenting on the trial, Dr Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist at the Cardiff University’s Centre for Medical Education said: “While there have been numerous demonstrations in recent years that the human brain and nervous system may not be as fixed and irreparable as is typically assumed, the idea that brain death could be easily reversed seems very far-fetched, given our current abilities and understanding of neuroscience.
Saving individual parts might be helpful but it's a long way from resurrecting a whole working brain, in a functional, undamaged state.
参照元 ： Telegraph
2016.05.20
英紙「Telegraph」（5月3日付）によると、脳死患者を試験的に蘇生させるという画期的なプロジェクトに対し、医療監視機関がGOサインを出したという。
■脳死者を蘇生させる「リアニマ・プロジェクト」とは
現在、脳死した人を蘇生させるための技術がアメリカで開発されているが、今回インドで倫理的問題がクリアされたため、「脳死者復活計画」が現実味を帯び始めた。これは「リアニマ・プロジェクト」と呼ばれ、アメリカとインドのバイオテクノロジー企業「バイオクオーク」と「レヴィータ・ライフ・サイエンシス」2社の協働により、インド・ウッタラーカンド州にあるアヌパム病院で実施される予定だ。
この研究では、脳の外的損傷により臨床的に脳死している20名に対し、ペプチド混合液を脊髄の中枢神経に毎日ポンプで注入。さらに2週間毎に幹細胞も投与し、それを6週間継続するという。また、昏睡状態にある患者を目覚めさせた実績のある神経刺激療法とレーザー照射も用いると発表されている。
この実験の被験者たちは、脳死判定を受けた後、ライフサポートでの延命状態に置かれている。実験の期間中、中枢神経系の一部が復活するかどうかを見逃さないよう彼らはMRIでモニターされる。特に、生命の維持に不可欠な呼吸や循環の制御機能を担っている脳の延髄（えんずい）部分に注目し、この機能の復活が蘇生への条件となる。
「バイオクオーク社」CEOであるイラ・パスター博士は「この史上初の試みは“脳死は回復できる”ことを証明するための足がかりとなるでしょう。最終的には、人類の死を反転させる可能性さえあります」と鼻息が荒い。まだ最初の患者20名を得たばかりではあるが「今後は病院とも連携し、『臓器提供をしたいが、宗教的理由や医学的制限によりできない』脳死患者の家族から了承を得て、どんどん患者をリクルートしていきたい」と抱負を語っている。
■「身体の一部機能を回復させるのとは訳が違う」という批判も
また、この科学者チームを率いる「レヴィータ・ライフ・サイエンシス」のヒマーンシュ・バンサル博士は、すでに中東とヨーロッパで、2人の患者に対してある程度成功の手応えを感じたと明かした上で「2、3カ月以内に最初の結果を報告できれば」と話している。
だが、一方でこの研究を疑問視する専門家もいる。イギリス・カーディフ大学センター・オブ・メディカル・エデュケーションの神経科学者ディーン・バーネット博士は、「“脳死からの再生”なんて、現在の神経科学レベルからみれば、あまりに先走りすぎているのではないでしょうか。身体の一部機能を回復させるのとは訳が違います」と警鐘を鳴らす。
確かに“少しだけ死んだ状態”で人間を生き返らせたりして問題ないのだろうか？ 試験運用ではあるものの、わずかに一線を越えてしまった人体実験のような危機感を募らせる人も少なくないだろう。脳機能の完全蘇生へ向けた研究は、いま始まったばかりだ。
（文＝佐藤Kay）
参考：「Telegraph」、ほか
参照元 ： TOCANA
Dead could be brought 'back to life' in groundbreaking project
Sarah Knapton, science editor
3 MAY 2016 • 12:15PM
A groundbreaking trial to see if it is possible to regenerate the brains of dead people, has won approval from health watchdogs.
Indian specialist Dr Himanshu Bansal, working with Biotech companies Revita Life Sciences and Bioquark Inc, has been granted ethical permission to recruit 20 patients who have been declared clinically dead from a traumatic brain injury, to test whether parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.
Scientists will use a combination of therapies, which include injecting the brain with stem cells and a cocktail of peptides, as well as deploying lasers and nerve stimulation techniques which have been shown to bring patients out of comas.
The trial participants will have been certified dead and only kept alive through life support. They will be monitored for several months using brain imaging equipment to look for signs of regeneration, particularly in the upper spinal cord - the lowest region of the brain stem which controls independent breathing and heartbeat.
The team believes that the brain stem cells may be able to erase their history and re-start life again, based on their surrounding tissue – a process seen in the animal kingdom in creatures like salamanders who can regrow entire limbs.
Dr Ira Pastor, the CEO of Bioquark Inc. said: “This represents the first trial of its kind and another step towards the eventual reversal of death in our lifetime.
“We just received approval for our first 20 subjects and we hope to start recruiting patients immediately from this first site – we are working with the hospital now to identify families where there may be a religious or medical barrier to organ donation.
"To undertake such a complex initiative, we are combining biologic regenerative medicine tools with other existing medical devices typically used for stimulation of the central nervous system, in patients with other severe disorders of consciousness.
“We hope to see results within the first two to three months."
The patients will be monitored using MRI scans for several months CREDIT: CHRONIS JONS
The ReAnima Project has just received approval in India, and the team plans to start recruiting patients immediately.
The first stage, named 'First In Human Neuro-Regeneration & Neuro-Reanimation' will be a non-randomised, single group 'proof of concept' and will take place at Anupam Hospital in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand India and is being led by Dr Himanshu Bansal of Revita Life Sciences.
Dr Bansal said he had already had some success with two patients in the Gulf and Europe.
"We have even offered the same protocol to a couple of brain dead subjects in Gulf and Europe," added Dr Bansal.
" They are still in minimal conscious state but who knows that they may come out and have reasonable conscious useful human life.
"We are now trying to create a definitive study in 20 subjects and prove that the brain death is reversible. This will open the door for future research and especially for people who loose there dear ones suddenly."
The peptides will be administered into the spinal cord daily via a pump, with the stem cells given bi-weekly, over the course of a 6 week period.
Dr Pastor added: "It is a long term vision of ours that a full recovery in such patients is a possibility, although that is not the focus of this first study – but it is a bridge to that eventuality."
Brain stem death is when a person no longer has any brain stem functions, and has permanently lost the potential for consciousness and the capacity to breathe.
A person is confirmed as being dead when their brain stem function is permanently lost.
However, although brain dead humans are technically no longer alive, their bodies can often still circulate blood, digest food, excrete waste, balance hormones, grow, sexually mature, heal wounds, spike a fever, and gestate and deliver a baby.
Recent studies have also suggested that some electrical activity and blood flow continues after brain cell death, just not enough to allow for the whole body to function.
And while human beings lack substantial regenerative capabilities in the central nervous system, many non-human species, such as amphibians and certain fish, can repair, regenerate and remodel substantial portions of their brain and brain stem even after critical life-threatening trauma.
“Through our study, we will gain unique insights into the state of human brain death, which will have important connections to future therapeutic development for other severe disorders of consciousness, such as coma, and the vegetative and minimally conscious states, as well as a range of degenerative CNS conditions, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease,” added Dr Sergei Paylian, Founder, President, and Chief Science Officer of Bioquark Inc.
Commenting on the trial, Dr Dean Burnett, a neuroscientist at the Cardiff University’s Centre for Medical Education said: “While there have been numerous demonstrations in recent years that the human brain and nervous system may not be as fixed and irreparable as is typically assumed, the idea that brain death could be easily reversed seems very far-fetched, given our current abilities and understanding of neuroscience.
Saving individual parts might be helpful but it's a long way from resurrecting a whole working brain, in a functional, undamaged state.
参照元 ： Telegraph
0 件のコメント:
コメントを投稿