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The study of the brain, both in life and after death, allows researchers to understand the causes and treatment options for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Programs that support brain and body donations play a key role in furthering research. Read on to learn how these programs work and how these studies can improve care for future generations.
By Alzheimer's Prevention Bulletin
As the world’s population ages, the number of people living with various types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, increases. Therefore, it becomes even more important to develop better prevention strategies, diagnostic tools and treatments. Research, including through post-mortem studies, is the best way to accomplish these objectives.
Programs for brain donation
Longitudinal studies that include brain and body donation after death are available. One such program is the Brain & Body Donation Program at the Banner Sun Health Research Institute in Sun City, AZ. Participants partake in annual assessments, including blood work and brain imaging, during life, and donate their brain, and in some cases also body tissue, after death.
“In addition to our research, we also provide tissues to qualified researchers across the U.S. and the world,” says Geidy E. Serrano, PhD, Director, Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology and the Brain & Body Donation Program, Banner Sun Health Research Institute. “One unique component to our program is that we are committed to a rapid autopsy by having an on-call team collect the specimens within three hours after death. This means our samples are of the highest quality which is crucial for research.”
For those who aren’t part of a local longitudinal study, the nationwide Brain Donor Project connects interested donors with the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) NeuroBioBank, which provides an international resource for investigators needing human post-mortem brain tissue and related specimens to understand conditions of the nervous system, including Alzheimer’s disease.
“A personal experience brought me to this work, as my dad, who had Lewy body dementia, donated his brain after his death in 2015 and the process was complicated,” explains Tish Hevel, CEO of the Brain Donor Project. “The NIH established the NeuroBioBank in 2013, and I was fortunate to get connected with them to start this national effort and serve as the intermediary between a person interested in donating and the brain banks.”
It’s important to note that organ donation programs do not include the brain. Brain donation is used specifically for research purposes. However, like organ donation, families don’t incur any costs for brain donation.
The role donations have played in research
Because of brain and body donations, researchers have made tremendous strides in understanding Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias and discovering new treatments including:
“On average, one brain can be used for more than 20 different studies,” explains Dr. Serrano. “Brain donation programs, including ours, don’t have many exclusion factors or requirements. We need a wide range of people, including a control group of people who are healthy or not experiencing any symptoms.”
Continuing this work positively impacts future generations
Brain and body donations have facilitated important advances in medicine, especially in the last ten years. But, because of the complexities of the brain, there is still a lot to learn.
“As people live longer, it becomes difficult for family members to take care of loved ones with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias,” says Dr. Serrano. “Continued brain and body donations will allow us to keep advancing science and ultimately improve diagnosis and treatments which will benefit individual families and society as a whole.”
“If we don’t have enough brain samples, researchers aren’t going to have what they need,” adds Tish. “One in five of us have a brain disease or disorder, so that’s more than one person in your immediate circle. Anything we can do to learn more to diagnose and prevent these conditions can help future generations.”
Want to contribute to Alzheimer’s research by donating your brain? If you are already enrolled in an Alzheimer’s-related study that requires you to go in-person for regular visits, that study team may have options for you. If you aren’t enrolled in such a study, or they don’t have this option available, you can donate your brain through the Brain Donor Project.
