Raising the dead.

This documentary examines the idea that cooling an injured person's body can save people who would otherwise die or suffer serious brain damage. Lance-Corporal Denzel Connick talks about being hit by a shell during the Falklands War, losing his legs, and lying out in the cold until help came. Doctors who served in the Falklands (Ian Jolly and Professor James Ryan) explain that many severely injured soldiers survived against the odds. It was 'like an experiment' which showed the value of keeping injured people's bodies cool. Scientists are looking for a drug which can 'suspend animation' in people. The film shows turtles which can hibernate for months without breathing and Haitian witch doctors who claim to be able to kill and reanimate people. The witch doctors' vital ingredient seems to be powdered puffer fish, which contains a powerful toxin. We hear how the toxin nearly killed a bodybuilder who ate puffer fish. Hopes of therapeutic use are limited, however, as finding a safe dose is considered almost impossible. During the cold war, Russian scientists researched the medical usefulness of extreme cold. They froze dogs for hours and managed to revive them. When the dogs later showed signs of internal damage, they abandoned research into cold. Dr Peter Safar's team have done animal experiments which show that cooling (not freezing) is therapeutic. Safar suggests the main cause of brain damage during trauma is that trauma causes a wave of chemical messages in the brain telling cells to self-destruct. Cooling stops the wave from spreading, thus preventing damage. Sharon Daly, 27, had sudden cardiac death and failed to revive after shock treatment. Dr S Tisherman (Safar colleague) tried the new technique of cooling. Sharon's heart restarted and she recovered. There are now clinical trials of cooling therapy being carried out throughout the world. The footage includes: British soldiers in Falklands War. Wounded soldiers. Field hospital. Russian frozen-dog experiments (dogs in ice, being revived). Dead boy pulled out of freezing lake (boy later revived). Voodoo witch doctors. Puffer fish. Bodybuilder (nearly died). Transfer of casualty from helicopter to ambulance. Computer-generated images of brain cells, chemical messages.