It seems that research teams are working on solutions for every medical ailment there is. And whether it be diabetes or macular degeneration or ALS, these teams are turning to stem cells to find the cure. But is it possible to resurrect a brain-dead human? Well, in one experiment scheduled to begin later this year, scientists want to use stem cells to reverse the death of the brain in a new and disputed way.
Reviving a dead brain
Bioquark, located in Philadelphia, is planning to conduct research that includes infusing stem cells into the spinal cords of people who have been declared clinically brain-dead. Individuals will also receive an injectable protein mixture, electrical nerve stimulation, and brain-directed laser therapy.
The ultimate goal is to stimulate the creation of new neurons and encourage them to communicate with one another, thus rejuvenating the brain.
“It’s our contention that there’s no single magic bullet for this, so to start with a single magic bullet makes no sense. Hence why we have to take a different approach,” said Ira Pastor, CEO of Bioquark. (STAT)
But according to what little scientific literature is available on the topic, even a barrage of magic bullets is unlikely to meet the goals of Bioquark.
Trial put on hold
Originally, Bioquark planned to begin the trial in April 2016 in Rudrapur, India, but no patients were enrolled. According to Science, the study was halted in November 2016 because India’s Drug Controller General had not approved it.
However, Dr. Himanshu Bansal, who runs the hospital where Bioquark was supposed to partner in India, claimed that the trial had not been discontinued, stating that he had actually tested the technique on patients without using Bioquark’s unique peptide mix and that the results were seen by an “independent observer” from a local medical college.
Now, Bioquark is in the final stages of finding another facility they can use and Pastor expects to release an announcement in the coming months for a trial to be conducted in Latin America.
The protocol
If the new trial follows the protocol for the halted Indian experiment, 20 patients will be enrolled and they will receive a variety of treatments beginning with the administration of stem cells derived from the patient’s own fat or blood.
Second, a peptide formula will be injected into the spinal cord to help develop new neurons. Bioquark has already studied this formula, known as BQ-A, in animal models of melanoma, severe brain damage, and skin wrinkling.
Third, to excite neural synapses, a 15-day regimen of nerve stimulation and laser therapy would be performed. Researchers will look for behavioral and EEG indications of therapeutic success.
The method, however, is fraught with uncertainty. For example, most state statutes in the United States define death as the irreversible loss of heart, lung, or brain function, so how can researchers get patients enrolled and have the consent forms filled out while the participant is legally dead?
A cure for death?
What functional capacities may the person have if brain activity is restored? Are families getting their hopes up for a highly improbable cure?
The majority of questions surrounding the trial have yet to be answered. Of course, many people are wondering: What happens next?
“While full recovery in such patients is indeed a long-term vision of ours, and a possibility that we foresee with continued work along this path, it is not the core focus or primary endpoint of this first protocol,” Pastor says. (STAT)
Bioquark’s CEO says he is personally interested in using the research to try to validate theories and concepts about the mind and to answer some of those questions that have been debated for hundreds of years concerning what the mind is, where it is, and so on.
He thinks that even throwing a little light on some of these more esoteric areas, such as non-central nervous system memory storage, could make the entire area of research much more exciting and open up new possibilities.
According to Pastor: ” I think we can just really uncover a lot of very exciting information — as well as potentially wake up some dead people.”
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