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Peter Gouras
Known as the father of retinal transplantation and a pioneer in the study of visual physiology, Professor Gouras is the recipient of many awards in the field of ophthalmology. He pioneered the method of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell transplantation and used it to stop the progression of retinal degeneration in the RCS rat, a well-known model of retinitis pigmentosa. He continued to research the retina and investigate ways to treat other diseases in that area of the eye.
In 2009 Peter Gouras wrote: “Cryonics is a far-out crusade that has enormous barriers to success in addition to possible untreatable freezing damage. It requires assumptions about the world of the future, threatened by climate change, terrorism, overpopulation, ignorance and war. But if man were to be discouraged by pessimism few of the greatest advances would have ever been made. Our goal is rational …. and this is its greatest strength.” Long Life 41 (7-8) pp 22-23
Peter Gouras M.D., Ph.D. h.c., Professor of Ophthalmology, member and advisor of CI, deanimated on Friday Jan. 8th in Baden-Baden (Germany)
Peter Gouras was born in 1930 in Brooklyn, New York, to immigrant parents from Greece and Ireland.
He earned a doctor’s degree in medicine (MD) at Johns Hopkins University in 1951 and became an intern in surgery at Johns Hopkins hospital. In 1950s he became a medical fellow at the National Institute of Health (NIH) and a fellow at Cambridge University in physiology. Later he returned to NIH as chief of the section of physiology, moving in 1979 to the Edward S. Harkness Eye Institute of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, to become a professor of ophthalmology.
He was member of the editorial boards of 6 renowned ophthalmological journals.
Among the honors he has received are the following:
Alexander von Humboldt Prize
Fellow, Optical Society of America
Honorary Citizen, Montpelier, France
Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Athens, Greece
Honorary Fellow, Association for Research in Vision & Ophthalmology
He was the first to describe an example of an optical change accompanying neural excitation, and entered the complex field of color vision.
In 1983 he initiated the concept of retinal cell transplantation (RPE), which may well be taken as the zenith of his career. His ultimate goal was the transplantation of the retina.
Another area of research involved retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). His team demonstrated the effects of age on the growth rate of human RPE in culture and studied vitamin A metabolism of cultured RPE.
He was interested in natural science since his childhood. The fact that some of his colleagues thought little about cryonics made him feel more of an outsider than his immigrant background. But he saw no alternative: “What troubled me most was the utter finality of death.” He therefore chose medicine as his occupation.
He described his path to cryonics in the journal Long Life as follows:
“It was in the 1960s that I read an article in The Washington Post that announced a cryonics meeting to discuss the possibility of freezing human subjects at their death with the hope of reviving them in the future when the cause of their death could be corrected. This prompted my interest and made me attend the meeting. From that time on I was a fervent supporter of cryonics.” A book on cryonics (1962) by R. Ettinger profoundly influence him.
In the 1960s he became a member of the German Association of Applied Biostasis.
He had worked on hypothermia already at medical school and later proceeded to the study of the cooling effects at neuromuscular junctions.
Peter Gouras authored 280 publications (s. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter_Gouras)
Dr. Gouras emphasized the importance of the following fields of research:
How cooling affected transmission at the neuromuscular junction
The physiology of color vision
Electric current or potassium leading to a wave of neural activity moving across the retina causing an optical change from neural activity
Parallel optic nerve channels from retina to brain in non-human primates
Aging of the retina and treatment of age-related macular degeneration
Retinal cell transplantation, especially the epithelial monolayer in membrane-to-membrane contact to the photoreceptors
Human trial to treat age related macular degeneration by transplantation.
Peter Gouras has been suspended by the embalmers of the funeral home "Himml" in Bayreuth Germany and members of the Ulm Cryonics Project and sent to Cryonics Institue in Detroit to be stored in fluid nitrogen.
Klaus Hermann Sames, anatomist, gerontologist („APL“ Prof.) Obere Grabenstrasse 4, D-91217 Hersbruck
Call of immortality: https://vimeo.com/128474798 at Oct. 28th 11,30 p.m. German TV SWR, movie " Call of immortality" Trailer: https://vimeo.com/128474798 including training of the Ulm Team
At februarry 25th in German TV series "TV total" Dr. Wladimir Wladimirowitch Klitschko and Professor Klaus Hermann Sames (in separated interviews). Presenter Stefan Raab; 1 Million viewers expected. Videos free in internet.
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German cryonics suspension of Sept. 25th 2019
This suspension has been the first practical cooperation of the Ulm Cryonics Project UKP with Cryonics Germany in an emergency mode.
Sept 23th
The 85 year old Swiss patient deanimated during Sept. 23. 2019 in hospital at 02.00-06.30 a.m.
CryoSuisse was contacted and in return contacted C. Germany at 21.45
C. Germany called the Swiss embalmer giving advise, as well as the hospital at 22.80 o'clock (reaching nobody in hospital)
They involved Mr. Streidt (embalmer in Ulm town, member of the Ulm Cryonics Project UKP) and CryoSuisse asked the relatives for help to get the Authority for Moving A Corpse to USA.
Sept. 24th
The body has been released at around 15.30 o'clock to the embalmer Daniel Streidt and brought to Bayreuth after clearing regulations (esp. Authority of Moving..). He started with the patient to Bayreuth for the funeral home Himml, where Mr. Voeth a very skilled embalmer was ready to manage the case. Benni Hampel - himself embalmer - and Klaus Sames (The Ulm Cryonics Project) helped adapt the procedure to the conditions of cryonics.
At 23.30 Daniel arrived with the patient at the funeral home in Bayreuth.
The patient had been covered with 65 kg of water ice.
We wanted to perfuse the patient with VM1 even after long ischemia.
Since time was rare and the equipment (for an extra-corporal circulation) of the UKP was still packaged, we decided to apply simple open perfusion using embalmers methods. The left carotid artery was prepared by Mr Voeth and cannulated and the right v. jugularis was cut for an open outflow using spreading tweezers to maintain it open (thus, the flow crosses sides).
Sept. 25th
At 1a.m. Mr. Voeth started preparation of blood vessels.
We used VM1 provided and precooled by Benni Hampl
We started with 7L of 30% VM1 diluted 1:1 with Ringer's solution, flow directed to the head. The cannula was then turned to the body perfusing it with the same solution.
This was followed starting at 2.30 a. m. by 30% VM1 again perfusing the head and body.
There was a well visible inflow of fluid to the head as well as to the body, but sparse outflow and increasing body volume .
At 2.45 perfusion with 75% VM1 was induced to perfuse the head only with 8 L of the solution.
The preservation ended at 3,30 a.m.
Transportation on dry ice to CI was performed by the embalmers.
Picture: Open thorax, arterial cannula and venous cannula crossing below the arterial one.
The venous reflux could only be reached by suction, since a high number of coagula flew out. 80 000 IU of heparin were applied and may have improved the reflux somehow, but not up to spontaneous running. Therefore closed perfusion could not be realized. The face- and occipital skin were swollen as was to be expected. No other parts of the body showed signs of perfusion. At the end thorax and skin have been closed.
The Circulation, driven by a roller pump was running as expected.
In the opened thorax cannules were fixed in the ascendent aorta and superior vena cava. Descendent aorta and arm arteries have been closed
Perfusion training of the Ulm Team (embalmer, perfusionist, anatomist, intensive care parmedic)
The training took place at Nov. 11. 2014 on the corps of a donor to science , which unfortunately had died 24 hours before and experienced 4 hours of warm and 20 hours of cold ischemia.
The Ulm project, training of the team in the oldest German embalmers institute in Ulm (at Danube):
Simulation of perfusion: the corpse in ice was not opened.
Anatomist marks position of ribs
Position of heart
Demonstration of instrumente
Perfusionist arranges circulation
********************
Now available:
Klaus H. Sames (ed.)
Applied Cryobiology
Human Biostasis
ISBN 978-3-8382-0458-1
192 pages, Paperback. € 34,90
This volume presents the proceedings at the first scientific cryonics symposium in Germany with additional contributions by expert authors. The topics discussed encompass the scientific basis of cryonics, latest progresses in cryoconservation as well as problems and obstacles and biological foundations. Why do we age? Are there means to extend the life span? Can cryonic preservation be realistic? What are the ethical implications? Which influences does the movement of transhumanism have on cryonics?
Different conceptions of cryopreservation are discussed, technical challenges and logistics of transportation on ice are addressed as well as proper education in applied cryonics. The example of the return of a frozen kidney to life is presented as well as the roots of cryonics in the 'ice age' of heart surgery and perspectives for cryobiology in emergency medicine after severe lesions.
Volume 1 of the book series Applied Human Cryobiology, edited by Prof. Dr. Klaus H. Sames.
The editor:
Prof. Dr. Klaus H. Sames was born in Kassel, Germany, in 1939. He worked as a physician and anatomist for four decades in research on the extension of the human life span. He was the first university teacher in experimental biological gerontology in Germany. Sames works as a scientific advisor for Cryonics Institute and is an honorary member of the German Society of Gerontology and Geriatrics as well as honorary chairman of the German Society of Applied Biostasis. He has assisted in several suspension cases in Europe cooperating with Cryonics Institute.
Contributers:
Klaus H. Sames • Robert Ettinger • Gregory M. Fahy • Brian Wowk • Roberto Pagotan • Alice Chang • John Phan • Bruce Thomson • Laura Phan • Aschwin de Wolf • Chana de Wolf • Ben Best • Peter Gouras • Sebastian C. Sethe • Thorsten Nahm • Jan Welke • Holger Zorn • Rolf A. Sommer
Foreword by Robert Ettinger
The last legion
K.H. Sames
Is it spleeny to fight for a long, an extended life?
Our cells and tissues do not spend their time with so stupid a question. They fight for life up to total loss of resources without respecting who is the enemy.
Defense center
Especially the brain coordinates the defense of organs in the organism, if danger is coming to the fore.
Worst case
Following a stop of supply of oxygen and nutrients the center itself is endangered e.g. by heart arrest.
Fight for energy
The oxygen reserves are exhausted almost instantly.
Then as a first action brain cells start to use alternative sources of energy like sugars and the already produced energy phosphates.
However after 2 min. of oxygen starvation these are exhausted too.
A number of cells (maybe around 10 %) dye a rapid way by so called necrosis.
Emergency
The cells of the brain do not give up in this case.
They start mechanisms to maintain function
Extensive stimulation between cells follows but cannot lead to normal excitation
The invisible enemy
Another line of defense are inflammatory reactions, which however remain unsatisfactory or even damage producing since there is no normal inflammation
Orderly retreat
Then the brain starts to exclude all cells damaged to an extent forming a danger for other cells. However, this involves almost all cells living at this time. Without energy cells fall in a type of dormant state.
The last legion, spartan fighters
It has been speculated that harsh conditions like hypoxia, acidosis, lack of nutrients and other postmortem shortages may stimulate stem cells or select them, enriching these more robust and efficient cells compared to those in living tissues.
Definite retreat of the last soldiers
Forming such stem cells may represent an effort to repair tissues in spite of general damage. In vain, the cells in the following become deeply dormant (as shown in muscle). Should there come a chance, they will stand up still ready to act following many hours and even days of heart arrest (Mansilla E, Mártire K,Roque G et al (2013) Salvage of cadaver stem cells (CSCs) as a routine procedure: history or future for regenerativ medicine. J Transplant Technol Res 3:118. doi.org/10.4172/2161-0991.1000118 ).
Who am I biologically?
Our body is a system defending its life by all means. We should act in favor of such defense, because we are the living body, nothing else.
This is our last legion fighting for our total existence and I am grateful to have found out about those living defense entities fighting for me even during dying.
„…He stands there ….pressing with his consciousness back against the certainty that all this will some day cease for him, The screen in his head will go totally blank, and yet it will all go on without him, dawn breaking and cars starting up and wild creatures continuing to feed in a terrain poisoned by Man….”
(John Updike: “Terrorist”. Ballantine Books, New York 2006; p. 26)
Klaus H. Sames*, Peter Gouras** Paolo Brenner***, Ramon Risco****, Roman Bauer*****
*(apl.)Prof. MD, anatomy, gerontology, The Ulm Project
** Prof. MD ophthalmology, Columbia Univ. New York
*** Prof. MD heart surgeon LMU Munich, Hospital Großhadern, heart surgery
**** Prof. Ph D National Accelerators Center, CNA-CSIC, C/ Descubrimientos s/n Seville
*****PhD EPSRC Research Fellow School of Computing Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
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