The National Institutes of Health Neurobiobank: A Federated National Network of Human Brain and Tissue Repositories (original) (raw)
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Cell and Tissue Banking, 2008
Generally accepted methods for processing postmortem brains are lacking despite the efforts of pioneers in the field, and the growing awareness of the importance of brain banking for investigating the pathogenesis of illnesses unique to humans. Standardizing methods require compromises, institutional or departmental mindset promoting collaboration, and willingness for sharing ideas, information, and samples. A sound balance between competition and institutional interests is needed to best fulfill the tasks entrusted to health care institutions. Thus, a potentially widely accepted protocol design involves tradeoffs. We successfully integrated brain banking within the operation of the department of pathology. We reached a consensus whereby a brain can be utilized for diagnosis, research, and teaching. Thus, routing brains away from residency programs is avoided. The best diagnostic categorization possible is being secured and the yield of samples for research maximized. Thorough technical details pertaining to the actual processing of brains donated for research was recently published. Briefly, one-half of each brain is immersed in formalin for performing the neuropathologic evaluation, which is combined with the teaching task. The contralateral half is extensively dissected at the fresh state to obtain samples ready for immediate disbursement once categorized diagnostically. The samples are tracked electronically, which is crucial. This important tracking system is described separately. This report focuses on key lessons learned over the past 25 years of brain banking including successful solutions to originally unforeseen problems.
Brain Banking: Making the Most of your Research Specimens
Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2009
Unbiased stereology is a method for accurately and efficiently estimating the total neuron number (or other cell type) in a given area of interest 1 . To achieve this goal 6-10 systematic sections should be probed covering the entire structure. Typically this involves processing 1/5 sections which leaves a significant amount of material unprocessed. In order to maximize the material, we propose an inexpensive method for preserving fixed tissue as part of a long-term storage research plan. As tissue is sliced and processed for the desired stain or antibody, alternate sections should be systematically placed in antigen preserve at -20°C for future processing. Using 24-well plates, sections can be placed in order for future retrieval. Using this method, tissue can be stored and processed for immunohistochemistry over the course of years.
Brain banking in the twenty-first century: creative solutions and ongoing challenges
Journal of Biorepository Science for Applied Medicine, 2014
Brain-banking organizations that collect and supply clinically and neuropathologically well-documented tissue specimens are essential for high-quality research into neurological and psychiatric disorders. The growing number of sophisticated neurobiological techniques that can be applied to human specimens obtained from donors at autopsy has increased the pressure on brain banks (BBs) to provide tissue for research conducted within the scientific community and pharmaceutical companies. A number of active BBs have been established worldwide in the past decade, and form an important link between tissue donors, their relatives, clinicians, neuropathologists, and scientists. There are established rapid-autopsy systems in various countries, based on local donor programs. These facilitate collection of tissue specimens, with the informed consent of donors with neurological and/or psychiatric disorders, and from controls. BBs are facing an urgent need for a consensus on the clinical and neuropathological diagnostic criteria that will make their specimens suitable for high-quality research. The benefits of this will be considerable, as improved understanding of neurological and psychiatric disorders will contribute significantly to the elucidation of their underlying disease mechanisms, and this has the potential to identify rational therapeutic targets.
The uniqueness of biobanks for neurological and psychiatric diseases: potentials and pitfalls
Pathobiology : journal of immunopathology, molecular and cellular biology, 2014
Central nervous system (CNS) biobanks are facing difficult and specific challenges due to the sensitive issue of collecting specimens of the CNS, and especially the brain. At present, there is no global network/central database to serve researchers, clinicians and pharma companies, or to supply the special specimens and the accompanying data in sufficient numbers and detail, respectively. The main challenge/objective is to standardize and harmonize all the facets involved in CNS biobanking in order to maximize efficient sample collection. Since the number of CNS biospecimens stored in existing biobanks is relatively limited and the accompanying data are not always readily available and hard to identify, we propose using optimal procedures for handling and storage of these specimens, and the global standardization of the cliniconeuropathological diagnostic criteria. One of the prominent achievements of the current global activity in brain tissue biobanks (BTB-banks) is the developmen...
Management of a twenty-first century brain bank: experience in the BrainNet Europe consortium
Acta Neuropathologica, 2008
Collections of human postmortem brains gathered in brain banks have underpinned many significant developments in the understanding of central nervous system (CNS) disorders and continue to support current research. Unfortunately, the worldwide decline in postmortem examinations has had an adverse effect on research tissue procurement, particularly from control cases (non-diseased brains). Recruitment to brain donor programmes partially addresses this problem and has been successful for dementing and neurodegenerative conditions. However, the collection of brains from control subjects, particularly from younger individuals, and from CNS disorders of sudden onset, remains a problem. Brain banks need to adopt additional strategies to circumvent
Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains
Journal of Visualized Experiments
In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find preventive and curative measures. The most effective way to achieve this is through direct examination of diseased and healthy brain tissue. The authors present a protocol to obtain, process, characterize and store good quality brain tissue donated by individuals registered in an antemortem brain donation program. The donation program includes a face-to-face empathic approach to people, a collection of complementary clinical, biological, social and lifestyle information and serial multi-dimensional assessments over time to track individual trajectories of normal aging and cognitive decline. Since many neurological diseases are asymmetrical, our brain bank offers a unique protocol for slicing fresh specimens. Brain sections of both hemispheres are alternately frozen (at-80 °C) or fixed in formalin; a fixed slice on one hemisphere corresponds to a frozen one on the other hemisphere. With this approach, a complete histological characterization of all frozen material can be obtained, and omics studies can be performed on histologically well-defined tissues from both hemispheres thus offering a more complete assessment of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Correct and definite diagnosis of these diseases can only be achieved by combining the clinical syndrome with the neuropathological evaluation, which often adds important etiological clues necessary to interpret the pathogenesis. This method can be time consuming, expensive and limited as it only covers a limited geographical area. Regardless of its limitations, the high degree of characterization it provides can be rewarding. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first Italian Brain Bank, all the while emphasizing the importance of neuropathologically verified epidemiological studies. 3. Meanwhile in the USA, Wallace Tourtelotte introduced antemortem brain donation programs to facilitate solicitation of
NeuroImage, 2017
Brain imaging is now ubiquitous in clinical practice and research. The case for bringing together large amounts of image data from well-characterised healthy subjects and those with a range of common brain diseases across the life course is now compelling. This report follows a meeting of international experts from multiple disciplines, all interested in brain image biobanking. The meeting included neuroimaging experts (clinical and non-clinical), computer scientists, epidemiologists, clinicians, ethicists, and lawyers involved in creating brain image banks. The meeting followed a structured format to discuss current and emerging brain image banks; applications such as atlases; conceptual and statistical problems (e.g. defining 'normality'); legal, ethical and technological issues (e.g. consents, potential for data linkage, data security, harmonisation, data storage and enabling of research data sharing). We summarise the lessons learned from the experiences of a wide range ...
FUKUSHIMA JOURNAL OF MEDICAL SCIENCE, 2012
It is essential to examine brain materials for the understanding the cause and pathology of mental disorders. Recent methodological progress urges us to set up well qualified brain banks. Human tissue and Biobanking is a complex field and the daily practice of brain banks needs to abide by several golden standards in order to avoid pitfalls in basic research : 1) A donor system in which informed consent is granted for the use of the samples for scientific research, including genetic analysis and access to medical records, 2) Rapid autopsy system, 3) Compatibility of protocols for procurement, management, handling and storage, 4) A generally accepted consensus on diagnostic criteria, 5) Quality control, 6) Abiding by local/international legal and ethical guidelines for work with human material, 7) Proper safety procedures. In the present review, the authors introduced the activities of European brain banks, and discussed on their current issues, and on the problems remain to be resolved.
Worldwide initiatives to advance brain research
Nature neuroscience, 2016
Free access provided by the Kavli Foundation Nature Neuroscience carries sole responsibility for all editorial content overarching administrative body is not needed. However, workshops and symposia including members of the different initiatives are, of course, very helpful to promote interaction. Efforts to address reproducibility, data availability and resource sharing. The neuroinformatics platform of HBP is critical in this respect, and its goal is to facilitate data availability and data sharing and to provide curated information to HBP and the neuroscience community.