X-Message-Number: 14049 Date: Sat, 08 Jul 2000 14:32:38 -0400 From: Paul Wakfer <> Newsgroups: sci.cryonics,sci.life-extension Subject: Perfected Brain Slice Cryopreservation now in Sight At the recent Fourth Alcor Conference on Life Extension Technologies Dr. Greg Fahy presented current experimental results from the Hippocampal Slice Cryopreservation Project (HSCP) of which he is chief scientist and co-principal investigator. Now in its second year of operation, the HSCP is being conducted at a research institution associated with a major Southern California university by Yuri Pichugin as experimentalist, and is funded by the Institute for Neural Cryobiology (INC). Since that presentation, confirmation of those results and additional progress have been made. The following research milestones have now been reached: 1. Stable and reproducible experimental procedures have been perfected for dissecting, handling & maintaining rat hippocampal slices with minimal harm, for vitrification solution (VS) addition & removal, for cooling, vitrification & rewarming, and for assaying cellular viability. 2. Using a potassium/sodium ratio assay for cellular viability (cells need to actively maintain this ratio in order to stay alive), addition & removal of the VS currently used in the HSCP yields viabilities in the range of about 50% of the viability of fresh, untreated control slices. Slices vitrified in this VS have shown no injury attributable to vitrification & warming per se in two separate experiments, and the reproducible cellular viability of such vitrified hippocampal slices is now at 53% of untreated controls. The primary challenge, then, is to reduce injury associated with the VS itself. 3. Work is about to begin with a new VS which has allowed 21st Century Medicine researchers to achieve 95% cellular viability after testing the VS on rabbit kidney slices. In addition, work is continuing on methods of adding & removing VS that may be less damaging. Finally, it is possible that longer recovery times may further improve the ultimate viability of the slices. All in all, prospects for further improvement appear excellent. The ultimate goal of the HSCP is perfected cryopreservation of brain hippocampal slices. This requires not only high cellular viability, but clear demonstration of functioning cellular interconnections. More details about this advanced global viability assay may be found at the INC website listed below. Once high cellular viability is achieved (which now looks to be very realistic before the end of the year 2000), work will begin on that final clear demonstration. The many generous donors of well over $100,000.00 spent so far to support this project are to be commended for their judgment and foresight. However, more money is now needed if the HSCP is to continue its success and complete its original project goals, which now more than ever before appear to be fully attainable. Please consider donating money to support the continuation of this important work which in all likelihood will hasten the achievement of perfected, fully-reversible, long-term human cryopreservation. INC is a registered California Public Benefit Corporation (501(c)(3) - charitable) and all donors receive an official receipt which may be used to reduce US and California taxable income. Checks or other financial instruments should be made payable to Institute for Neural Cryobiology and mailed to the address below. Any amount is welcome. The Institute for Neural Cryobiology 238 Davenport Rd #240 Toronto, ON M5R 1J6 Canada http://www.neurocryo.org mailto: Phone:416-968-6291 Fax:559-663-5511 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=14049