Two biotech companies are planning an experiment to revive the brains of dead patients, and have recently been granted ethical permission by health watchdogs, to do so.

As reported often at ZRS, there is a fine line between life and death. The idea of something that has all the defining characteristics of death as we know it, but still exhibits elements of life, is the very definition of undead. The twilight between the life and death of those in comas or those surviving through the use of machinery alone, are real-world examples.

In an earlier article entitled, A Drug That Temporarily Wakes the Near Dead we discussed how the drug Ambien (aka Zolpidem), the most prescribed drug in America for insomnia, has had the opposite effect on some people. In 1999, for example, a young boy in a coma was given Zolpidem in an effort help him sleep, as he exhibited signs of insomnia, despite being in a vegetative state (he clawed at his mattress in the night). He awoke almost immediately, was responsive for several hours, and then drifted back into the coma. The doctors continued to administer the drug, and the “awakenings” started to stretch from hours to days. He eventually did not need Zolpidem at all.

[pullquote]… Revita Life Sciences and Bioquark Inc. announced several months ago that they would be experimenting with reviving the brains of people who have been declared clinically dead…[/pullquote]

So it should come as no surprise when Revita Life Sciences and Bioquark Inc. announced several months ago that they would be experimenting with reviving the brains of people who have been declared clinically dead from traumatic brain injuries. Dubbed The ReAnima Project, these US and Indian biotech companies have recently been given the green light by the IRB* to recruit 20 brain dead subjects for use in their experiments. They will administer peptides into their spinal cord daily via a pump, with stem cells given bi-weekly, over the course of a 6 week period to test if parts of their central nervous system can be brought back to life.

Dr. Bansal, who heads the project said he has already had some success with two patients in the Gulf and Europe.

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 lose their dear ones suddenly.

Although brain dead patients are technically not alive, many body functions continue to work, including blood circulation, digestion, healing, fevers, and even baby delivery. The real question these experiments raise is the mental state a person will be in after revival from brain death.

* Research conducted by American University affiliates using human participants is overseen by American University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). Its purpose is to facilitate human subjects research and to ensure the rights and welfare of human subjects are protected during their participation. American University upholds the highest standards in the ethical conduct of research, including the protection of human participants, while enabling its faculty, staff and students to conduct research in a timely and efficient manner.