The Human Brain Bank
“The N.Z Neurological Foundation Human Brain Bank is established in the Department of Anatomy with Radiology. The bank provides tissue for research programmes such as the pattern of cell death and chemical changes in Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Epilepsy and Motor Neuron Disease.
N.Z. Neuroscientist Professor Richard Faull, whose world-leading research on the human brain has led to new insights into the treatment of brain disease is recognised internationally as a leading expert on neuro-degenerative diseases of the human brain. His research spans 35 years and encompasses all major regions of the brain and spinal cord, the science of the diseased human brain in Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and epilepsy.
His research provided the first evidence the diseased human brain can repair itself by the generation of new brain cells. He is based at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at The University of Auckland, where he is Director of the Centre for Brain Research and founded the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Human Brain Bank, an internationally recognised resource providing tissue for leading research programmes on Huntington’s and Parkinson’s diseases, epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.
Ethically approved procedures have been developed for the acquisition of postmortem normal and diseased human brains. Normal, Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Epilepsy, Motor Neuron, Stroke and Schizophrenia Diseased human brain material are obtained from the Auckland City Hospital mortuary that provides the mortuary services for the Auckland metropolitan area (population over 1,000,000).
Additional Huntington’s and Parkinson’s brains are air-freighted from other centres throughout New Zealand. The studies have the support of the Huntington’s Disease Association of New Zealand, the Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Society (ADARDS), the Parkinsonism Society of New Zealand, the Schizophrenia Fellowship, the NZ Epilepsy Association and other neurological associations who notify us when a Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s patient has died and assist in arrangements for the bequeathing of the brain to the Brain Bank for research purposes.
A close working relationship has been established with these associations and a special donor package is available with information from the families of potential donors which details the necessary procedures for the bequest of brain tissue to the Brain Bank for research studies.
The brains are obtained as soon after death as possible, normally within 2-12 hours. The normal human tissue is taken from subjects who had previously been in good health with no known history of neurological disease or drug treatment and who had died suddenly without receiving medication (e.g road traffic accidents, sudden fatal myocardial infarction). All human tissue bequests are routinely tested to exclude potentially hazardous infectious diseases (e.g HIV, Hep B, Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).
All human brain tissue is carefully documented and stored to form a comprehensive human brain tissue bank in the department for studies on neurological diseases. Tissue has been received from over 300 normal and diseased human brains covering a wide variety of neuro-degenerative diseases; this is an invaluable and unique collection of human brain material.
The collection procedures are very efficient, with a shorter postmortem delay than is possible at most of overseas brain banks. As a result, requests for human brain tissue have been received from overseas research laboratories and research groups have established very productive and mutually beneficial research collaborations with leading brain research groups in New Zealand, Europe, Scandinavia and Japan.”
For further information, contact ::
Prof Richard L M Faull
Phone: +64 9 373 7599 ext 86708
Email: rlm.faull@auckland.ac.nz
