Brain banking in the United States and Europe: Importance, challenges, and future trends

Abstract

In recent years, brain banks have become valuable resources for examining the molecular underpinnings of various neurological and psychological disorders including Alzheimer disease and Parkinson disease. However, the availability of brain tissue has significantly declined. Proper collection, preparation, and preservation of postmortem autopsy tissue are essential for optimal downstream brain tissue distribution and experimentation. Collaborations between brain banks through larger networks such as NeuroBioBank with centralized sample request mechanisms promote tissue distribution where brain donations are disproportionately lower. Collaborations between brain banking networks also help to standardize the brain donation and sample preparation processes, ensuring proper distribution and experimentation. Ethical brain donation and thorough processing enhances the responsible conduct of scientific studies. Education and outreach programs that foster collaboration between hospitals, nursing homes, neuropathologists, and other research scientists help to alleviate concerns among potential brain donors. Furthermore, ensuring that biorepositories accurately reflect the true demographics of communities will result in research data that reliably represent populations. Implementing these measures will grant scientists improved access to brain tissue, facilitating a deeper understanding of the neurological diseases that impact millions.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease; Brain banking; NeuroBioBank; Parkinson disease; Postmortem.

Figure 1.

Representative images of postmortem brain tissue from a formalin-fixed brain donation. (A) Lateral surface of the left hemisphere. (B) Medial surface of the left hemisphere. (C) Coronal sections of left (LT) and right (RT) sides. The top right section is the tip of the right frontal lobe for reference. (D) Sections of the cervical (left), thoracic (middle), and lumbar (right) spinal cord encased in dura mater. (E) Piece of the dura mater.

Figure 2.

Process for obtaining tissue from NeuroBioBank (Created with BioRender.com).

Figure 3.

Locations of participating institutions of the National Institutes of Health NeuroBioBank.

Figure 4.

Percent of tissue in National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center data by race.

Figure 5.

Illustration of the role of brain banking in advancing Multiomic technologies. [1] Study Design involves stratifying disease groups while aiming to minimize confounding factors. [2] Samples from selected individuals are collected and processed depending on the intended detection method for the tissue or extraction. [3] Unbiased statistical analysis is carried out on generated and established Multiomic data allowing for integration and biological interpretation. [4] Disease subtyping and biomarker prediction are achieved by correlating stratified clinical data with Multiomic profiles which include expression data, copy number variation data, gene mutations, as well as pathway/network activation information (created with BioRender.com).