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Primary Care Research Network
East Midlands & South Yorkshire
Co-ordinating Centre
6th Floor, St John's House
30 East Street
Leicester LE1 6NB
E. judith.martin@emsy.nhs.uk
T. 0116 295 4080
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Studies A-Z > B > BDR - Donor Recruitment
Research Summary
The reduction in the number of post mortems carried out and the impact of Alder Hey on the public perception of donating tissue for research has adversely affected the availability of post mortem tissue. This causes major problems for research into age-related neurodegenerative conditions with a lack of disease tissue and a severe shortage of non-dementia control brain tissue.
Brains for Dementia Research was established to network four existing brain tissue banks and a donation centre with the aim of increasing the availability of tissue for research from individuals with and without dementia, which have been well characterised clinically prior to brain donation taking place.
Future research correlating the clinical picture with the post mortem neuropathology is dependent on a supply of good quality brain post mortem brain tissue. This will generate greater understanding of dementia subtypes, and enable development of interventive therapy to be more accurately targeted to dementia types and manifestations, rather than administered across a wide spectrum with little chance of seeing any response.
The participating centres have agreed to standardise the clinical information collected during life, and the post mortem and neuropathological procedures, so research requiring larger sample numbers, such as genetic studies, can utilise tissue from more than one tissue bank.
Patients with a diagnosis of dementia will undergo cognitive and memory testing every year. Individuals without memory impairment will be tested once every two years. No biological samples are sought from living patients. In addition to recruitment via the participating centres, there will be a dedicated website that will channel potential donors to one of the participating centres.