Depressed Metabolism

In their paper “The role of leukocytes following cerebral ischemia: pathogenic variable or bystander reaction to emerging infarct?” D.F. Emerich et al. review the literature on the involvement of neutrophils in cerebral ischemia:
“We reasoned that if neutrophils play an important pathogenic (i.e., cause-effect) role in the neuronal damage that follows a stroke, then one should [...]

An ongoing quest in cryonics is the successful demonstration of memory sustainment after cryopreservation of the brain and rewarming from cryogenic temperatures. To that end, landmark experiments were performed by Pichugin, et al. (2006) on rat hippocampal brain slices which indicate that the hippocampus retains excellent structural integrity and viability (as measured by Na+/K+ ion [...]

A strong argument in favor of neuropreservation is that all efforts can be devoted to vitrification of the brain. Perfusion times are shorter and challenges present during perfusion of the rest of the body (such as abdominal swelling and the higher viscosity of whole body perfusates) are eliminated. The technique of isolated head perfusion [...]

Stabilization in cryonics requires immediate administration of vasoactive medications to maintain blood pressure, thereby assisting and enabling adequate perfusion during cardiopulmonary support. Traditionally, vasopressors such as epinephrine have been administered intravenously, requiring skilled technicians to establish an IV line as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, even the best technicians often encounter difficulties in obtaining an IV [...]

The Autopulse presents an alternative to the (high impulse) active compression-decompression devices that cryonics organizations currently employ to provide cardiopulmonary support (CPS) during stabilization. The Autopulse uses batteries instead of compressed oxygen and is easy to set up and operate. Disadvantages include its cost, limited patient size range, and the modifications that cryonics organizations [...]

“Even in the case of advanced Alzheimer’s disease, a person is ultimately not declared dead because of the loss of personhood, but as a consequence of secondary whole brain death or cardiac and respiratory arrest. In essence, today’s medicine routinely prolongs life while allowing destruction of the person but pronounces death, using cardiac criteria, without [...]

In this recent paper the authors argue that “multi-organ failure secondary to sepsis may actually represent an adaptive hypometabolic response to preserve ATP homeostasis in the face of a prolonged inflammatory insult.” Unlike organ specific diseases, mitochondrial dysfunction in multiple organ failure may be potentially reversible by careful timing of proper treatment. The authors warn [...]