X-Message-Number: 9223
From: (Steven B. Harris)
Newsgroups: sci.med,sci.life-extension,sci.cryonics
Subject: Re: When DO Neurons Die Without Oxygen?  Not When You Thought.
Date: 28 Feb 1998 00:04:39 GMT
Message-ID: <6d7kan$>

References: <6cnn8i$c2s$> 
<>

In <> Steen Goddik
<> writes: 
>
>One description I have heard is, that when the RER degranulate, the
>cell is not actually dead yet, but it is very close to it, and thaat
>that point it is pretty much irreversible.


RER = ribosomes on endoplasmic reticulum?  These fall appart after less
than an hour in the brain.  But as we see, neuronal function is very
much recoverable after many hours.

It's much the same in the heart-- changes like mitochondrial swelling
and nuclear chromatin clumping which were thought to signify cell
death, all turned out to be reversible.  And in cold brains something
really remarkable happens:  the entire axonal transport system
disappears.  De-polymerizes!  Warm the animal up, though, and it
assembles itself again, and functions fine.

                                         Steve Harris, M.D.  

Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=9223