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Letter: Spinal repair is a worthy goal

Published 26 October 2016

From Toby Pereira

Talk of so-called head transplants seems premature (24 September, p 8). The real news is that we may be nearing the point where it is possible to repair a damaged spinal cord, giving movement to people we previously thought were paralysed for life. That would be one of the biggest medical breakthroughs of all time: but as you report, the evidence is very much in doubt.

Given this, transplanting a whole body onto someone's head is little more than speculation at present. It is interesting, but really warrants just a sentence about potential future applications once spinal cord repair is achieved.

Rayne, Essex, UK

Issue no. 3097 published 29 October 2016

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