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I always read that asphyxiated brain cells actually never die and there is some base level electrical activity. Many teams work on trying to re-activate those n

I always read that asphyxiated brain cells actually never die and there is some base level electrical activity. Many teams work on trying to re-activate those neurons. It's really an exciting research that can help millions that have suffered brain damage during birth(cerebral palsy), stroke or in coma and have large areas of the brain with dead cells.

kunai 6y ago
That's so odd given everything we know about cell biology -- aerobic respiration is required for cell activity and anaerobic processes generate lots of toxins and are an inferior alternative. This is really exciting research.
oarabbus_ 6y ago
Source? My understanding of biology is that _all_ cells can die from oxygen deprivation, which is what happens to asphyxiated brain cells.
Udo 6y ago
> asphyxiated brain cells actually never die and there is some base level electrical activity What you're describing is physically impossible and has in fact never been observed by science. Electrical activity implies chemical activity and an active metabolism. Dead brain cells lose their electrical potential, eventually the cell walls break down and spill their dead biochemical machinery, effectively liquefying the organ. Our cemeteries are not full of intact, electrically active brains somehow. When a neuron is deprived of oxygen, it shuts down. Some intracellular processes run until their educts are exhausted, and then come to a stop. When an anoxic brain cell is then re-supplied with oxygen after this shut down has progressed too far, the sudden resumation of processes means that these previously accumulated cytotoxic reaction products are now suddenly disrupting normal biochemical processes - this disruption leads to the death of the cell after it has been re-supplied. We call this category of damage reperfusion injuries. Reperfusion damage is perverse in the sense that, while the neuron was damaged during anoxia, its actual death only plays out once its chemical programs start running again. But in a way this is also promising, since in the future we should be able to prevent this kind of cell death, effectively prolonging the time a patient can survive anoxia without brain damage. There are drugs that we give stroke patients today with this mechanism in mind, but so far the results have been mixed. > stroke or in coma and have large areas of the brain with dead cells In a live body, dead brain cells quickly break down and are resorbed. There is nothing left to fix there. The correct time to take action is while cells are still intact, in the delicate stage before and shortly after oxygen supply is restored.
- selestify 6y ago
  What are educts?
  - mannschott 6y ago
    "Educt, is a substance separated from a mixture in which it already existed, as opposed to a product, which is newly generated by a chemical reaction." So, in this context, the substances consumed by the cell's chemical processes.
- myth_drannon 6y ago
  Sorry, I need more coffee before I write comments. You are all correct and I'm totally wrong. I confused it with the research on neurons surrounding the dead areas. These neurons become dormant because of disuse.
deleted 6y ago
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kunai 6y ago

That's so odd given everything we know about cell biology -- aerobic respiration is required for cell activity and anaerobic processes generate lots of toxins and are an inferior alternative. This is really exciting research.

oarabbus_ 6y ago

Source? My understanding of biology is that _all_ cells can die from oxygen deprivation, which is what happens to asphyxiated brain cells.

Udo 6y ago

> asphyxiated brain cells actually never die and there is some base level electrical activity What you're describing is physically impossible and has in fact never been observed by science. Electrical activity implies chemical activity and an active metabolism. Dead brain cells lose their electrical potential, eventually the cell walls break down and spill their dead biochemical machinery, effectively liquefying the organ. Our cemeteries are not full of intact, electrically active brains somehow. When a neuron is deprived of oxygen, it shuts down. Some intracellular processes run until their educts are exhausted, and then come to a stop. When an anoxic brain cell is then re-supplied with oxygen after this shut down has progressed too far, the sudden resumation of processes means that these previously accumulated cytotoxic reaction products are now suddenly disrupting normal biochemical processes - this disruption leads to the death of the cell after it has been re-supplied. We call this category of damage reperfusion injuries. Reperfusion damage is perverse in the sense that, while the neuron was damaged during anoxia, its actual death only plays out once its chemical programs start running again. But in a way this is also promising, since in the future we should be able to prevent this kind of cell death, effectively prolonging the time a patient can survive anoxia without brain damage. There are drugs that we give stroke patients today with this mechanism in mind, but so far the results have been mixed. > stroke or in coma and have large areas of the brain with dead cells In a live body, dead brain cells quickly break down and are resorbed. There is nothing left to fix there. The correct time to take action is while cells are still intact, in the delicate stage before and shortly after oxygen supply is restored.

selestify 6y ago
What are educts?
- mannschott 6y ago
  "Educt, is a substance separated from a mixture in which it already existed, as opposed to a product, which is newly generated by a chemical reaction." So, in this context, the substances consumed by the cell's chemical processes.
myth_drannon 6y ago
Sorry, I need more coffee before I write comments. You are all correct and I'm totally wrong. I confused it with the research on neurons surrounding the dead areas. These neurons become dormant because of disuse.

deleted 6y ago

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