Scientists have revived activity in the brains of pigs up to nearly an hour after circulation had ceased. In some cases, functionality was sustained f

Scientists Revived a Pig's Brain Nearly a Whole Hour After It Died

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2024-10-24 11:30:03

Scientists have revived activity in the brains of pigs up to nearly an hour after circulation had ceased. In some cases, functionality was sustained for hours through a surprising discovery by researchers in China.

This achievement represents a huge step forward in working out how to restore brain function after a patient has suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. It suggests that doctors may be able to widen the brief window for successful resuscitation of patients following cardiac arrest.

The trick? Incorporating the patient's unharmed liver – the organ the body uses to purify its blood – into the life support system used to revive the brain after the time had elapsed.

Sudden cardiac arrest causes a lot of problems in the body due to the rapid cessation of blood flow. The subsequent drop in circulation to parts of the body is called ischemia, and when it occurs in the brain, it can cause serious, irreparable damage within minutes. This is why the resuscitation window for cardiac arrest is so short.

It's known that multi-organ ischemia plays a role in the brain's ability to recover after a cardiac arrest, but the individual organs have not been fully investigated.