Study: Cell Function Restored in Pigs after Death

Researchers say experiments on pig tissue suggest that tissue can be preserved and cells can regain¹ the ability to work an hour after death.

The study, by a team of Yale University researchers in the United States, recently appeared in the scientific publication Nature.

The researchers suggested that their experimental technology could help increase the number of organs available to patients who need organ transplants.

In the experiment, the researchers stopped the hearts of several pigs. After an hour, the animals were attached to a specialized² machine which pumped a blood substitute through their bodies. The fluid contained some blood and about 13 chemicals meant to support cell activity and decrease inflammation.

Six hours later, the treatment had reduced or cancelled some of the damage that resulted from lack of oxygen when the heart stopped pumping blood. For example, organ inflammation and collapsed³ blood vessels⁵ had reduced or were corrected, the scientists said.

The researchers call the treatment OrganEx.

The results showed that when the heart stops, the body is "not as dead as we previously⁶ assumed," Zvonimir Vrselja said. He is one of the writers of the Yale University study who spoke⁷ with reporters. He added, "We were able to show that we can persuade cells not to die."

In the study, the scientists said genetic⁸ examination of the tissue suggested that the process of repairing cells began once circulation was brought back.

The researchers said that during the experiment, the pigs showed no evidence of electrical activity in the brain.

They hope OrganEx will permit increased use of organs taken after withdrawal⁹ of life support from donors¹¹ with severe brain injuries they cannot recover from. Their aim is to prevent damage to organs that happens when blood stops circulating.

Currently, organs taken from brain-dead donors who were taken off life support systems do not perform as well as those taken from such donors with circulating blood.

Using OrganEx on human organs, however, could be years away.

Stephen Latham is of Yale's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics. He said the result of the study "stops far short of saying that any organs were restored to the level of function" necessary to support life.

Some observers are suggesting that, in theory, the technology could someday be used to bring someone who has just died back to life.

Latham said, "In order to do that, there's a great deal more experimentation¹² that would be required." He added, "And you'd have to think about what is the state to which a human being would be restored."

Latham said use of OrganEx in organ transplants is a more realistic goal. He added, any use of OrganEx in a medical treatment of a patient "is going to be a long ways away."

Words in This Story

transplant – v. to perform a medical operation in which an organ or other part that has been removed from the body of one person is put into the body of another person

inflammation – n. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen¹³, and painful

vessel⁴ – n. a vein¹⁴ or artery¹⁵ that carries blood through the body

assume – v. to think that something is true or probably true without knowing that it is true

donor¹⁰ – n. a person who gives something (such as blood or a body organ) so that it can be given to someone who needs it

function –n. the activity, purpose or job that something or someone does

 

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1 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

2 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

3 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

4 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

5 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

9 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

10 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

11 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

13 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

14 vein   

n.血管，静脉；叶脉，纹理；情绪；vt.使成脉络

参考例句：

• The girl is not in the vein for singing today.那女孩今天没有心情唱歌。
• The doctor injects glucose into the patient's vein.医生把葡萄糖注射入病人的静脉。

15 artery   

n.干线，要道；动脉

参考例句：

• We couldn't feel the changes in the blood pressure within the artery.我们无法感觉到动脉血管内血压的变化。
• The aorta is the largest artery in the body.主动脉是人体中的最大动脉。