Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jun 13;4(Suppl 1):S335-42.
doi: 10.4103/2152-7806.113444. eCollection 2013.

HEAVEN: The head anastomosis venture Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage (GEMINI)

Affiliations

HEAVEN: The head anastomosis venture Project outline for the first human head transplantation with spinal linkage (GEMINI)

Sergio Canavero. Surg Neurol Int. .

Abstract

In 1970, the first cephalosomatic linkage was achieved in the monkey. However, the technology did not exist for reconnecting the spinal cord, and this line of research was no longer pursued. In this paper, an outline for the first total cephalic exchange in man is provided and spinal reconnection is described. The use of fusogens, special membrane-fusion substances, is discussed in view of the first human cord linkage. Several human diseases without cure might benefit from the procedure.

Keywords: Fusogens; head transplantation; spinal cord reconstruction.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Drawing depicting White's autocerebral hypothermic perfusion in place (from White 1978)
Figure 2
Figure 2
Drawing depicting biventricular cooling for deep brain hypothermia in a monkey (from White 1978)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Depiction of various ways to locally cord the spinal cord (from Negrin 1973)
Figure 4
Figure 4
Drawing depicting the first total cephalosomatic exchange in a monkey (from White et al. 1971)

Comment in

References

    1. Albin MS, White RJ, Locke GE, Kretchmer HE. Spinal cord hypothermia by localized perfusion cooling. Nature. 1966;210:1059–60. - PubMed
    1. Alzaga AG, Cerdan M, Varon J. Therapeutic hypothermia. Resuscitation. 2006;70:369–80. - PubMed
    1. Amoozgar Z, Rickett T, Park J, Tuchek C, Shi R, Yeo Y. Semi-interpenetrating network of polyethylene glycol and photocrosslinkable chitosan as an in-situ-forming nerve adhesive. Acta Biomaterialia. 2012;8:1849–58. - PubMed
    1. Basso DM. Neuroanatomical substrates of functional recovery after experimental spinal cord injury: Implications of basic science research for human spinal cord injury. Phys Ther. 2000;80:808–17. - PubMed
    1. Bittner GD, Ballinger ML, Raymond MA. Reconnection of severed nerve axons with polyethylene glycol. Brain Res. 1986;367:351–5. - PubMed