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U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

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Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#151

Post by jacobn »

tombert wrote: post #144

Genuine question: why is an artificial heart such a hard thing to make? At least from a lay-person's perspective, it's just some pumps and valves, which we've gotten pretty good at making. Obviously I'm wrong about that because there really isn't a permanent artificial heart yet, but it's something I have wondered for awhile.

See "total artificial heart": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_heart

Layperson speculation: hard to power 24/7 without an external power source, it must connect seamlessly to the blood stream (can't have it disconnect from the aorta after five weeks), and the surfaces exposed to the blood must not cause blood clots (so careful at the seams).

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#153

Post by FinanceAnon »

bobbylarrybobby wrote: post #146
tombert wrote: post #144

Genuine question: why is an artificial heart such a hard thing to make? At least from a lay-person's perspective, it's just some pumps and valves, which we've gotten pretty good at making. Obviously I'm wrong about that because there really isn't a permanent artificial heart yet, but it's something I have wondered for awhile.

In addition to soft flexible machinery being somewhat difficult to manufacture, you would also have to hook it up to the brain. Not exactly an easy feat.

Why would you need to hook it up to the brain? I am assuming to respond to signals, for example stressed -> beat faster? But what would happen if you didn't have this automatic response? Let's say the heartbeat could be controlled by an algorithm or an app - for example if you lie down, it slows down automatically or if you expect to do some exercise, you can turn it up.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#155

Post by jhgb »

mardifoufs wrote: post #134
ummonk wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I imagine Muslims, Jews, and Hindus would tend to have specific preferences as well.

I'd argue that in islam pretty much all of these restrictions are not applicable when it's for medical reasons. Alcohol is explicitly allowed in such cases (I think it was used to relieve pain in surgeries) , and even pork is okay to eat if you can't find anything else. Another example would be Ramadan fasting, which is not necessary if you are ill or when you are travelin. Overall, almost any restriction in islam is…

You can rationalize all you want, but you can't reason religious people out of things they didn't reason themselves into. If these people can be convinced that they shouldn't be doing thing XYZ on the order of an omnipotent being that nobody has ever seen, chances seem to be even between them accepting exceptions from this order and them rejecting these exceptions. After all, you see other people rejecting/ignoring other parts of their own religion all the time.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#156

Post by jamiek88 »

peanut_worm wrote: post #29
ballenf wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm only able to relax when I don't think about my need for a constantly beating heart -- pig or otherwise.

Same, I start to panic if I think about my heart or circulatory system for more than a few seconds

That’s why as soon as there is a reliable mechanical heart I am getting one.

Massive stroke and sudden cardiac arrest are one of the few ways you can just drop dead with no warning I’d love to reduce that risk by half with a fully artificial heart. Assuming of course it’s more reliable than a regular one.

Same with elective prosthetics there will come a time when bionic arms or legs infer a physical advantage.

Hope I’m around to take advantage!

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#157

Post by sitic »

lupire wrote: post #121
tricky wrote: post #26

You might be asking, why a pig? I don't know, but forever ago I wrote software for a cardiovascular imaging lab and pigs were their primary test subjects. I was like, "why pigs?" and the PI was like, "Imaging-wise, pig hearts aren't too different from humans. Plus, we can give them a heart attack in the scanner and not go to jail. Some labs use dogs. I just can't do that."

Weird to have a a scientist behaving so irrationally regarding pigs vs dogs, especially because the pig was chosen for its likeness to a human.

Canine (dog) hearts are also very similar to human hearts. Historically, they were the predominant large animal model for cardiovascular diseases and many landmark studies used them. For some disease models a canine heart resembles an "old human heart" better than a pig heart.

The public sentiment is much more favorable for using pig hearts opposed to dog hearts. It's not nice having to explain that you kill dogs for your research.

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#158

Post by colordrops »

lupire wrote: post #121
tricky wrote: post #26

You might be asking, why a pig? I don't know, but forever ago I wrote software for a cardiovascular imaging lab and pigs were their primary test subjects. I was like, "why pigs?" and the PI was like, "Imaging-wise, pig hearts aren't too different from humans. Plus, we can give them a heart attack in the scanner and not go to jail. Some labs use dogs. I just can't do that."

Weird to have a a scientist behaving so irrationally regarding pigs vs dogs, especially because the pig was chosen for its likeness to a human.

https://www.elwooddogmeat.com/

Re: U.S. surgeons transplant pig heart into human patient

#159

Post by aspaviento »

tombert wrote: post #131
lupire wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Weird to have a a scientist behaving so irrationally regarding pigs vs dogs, especially because the pig was chosen for its likeness to a human.

I was about to say, aren't pigs smarter than dogs generally? Seems like a strange line to draw.

As many aspects in our society, appearance matters the most.
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