Parkinson's UK Brain Bank
Imperial College London (Parkinson's UK)
Professor David Dexter
44 20 7594 6665
The development of new therapeutic approaches to inhibit the initiation and progression of neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders is highly dependent on a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms leading to damage within the central nervous system. Such an understanding can only truly be gained by studying the human tissues that are affected by the disease mechanism, followed by experimental approaches. The Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Tissue Bank at Imperial College was set up to provide a national collection of MS and PD tissues, based on a prospective donor scheme. Brain, spinal cord and other tissues are retrieved rapidly after death, processed, characterised and stored, before being sent out to research teams around the world. The Tissue Bank represents one of the major sources of post-mortem human brain and spinal cord material for research in the world, supplying tissue via an open access peer reviewed system to both academia and industry. It has proven to be a vital component of the international fight against these devastating diseases and we are now applying for funding to maintain this important infrastructure for the next 5 years. We will continue to build on the existing foundation by embracing the latest developments in MS and PD research so that researchers are supplied with the well characterised human tissues that they need for carrying out excellent discovery research.
01/07/2014
1,713,162
The discovery of new drugs can that inhibit the increasing damage to the brain and spinal cord of people with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease requires the detailed study of the very tissues that are damaged by these two devastating conditions. The Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson's Tissue Bank at Imperial College was set up to provide a national resource of MS and PD tissues that can be used by researchers around the world to advance our understanding of both conditions. It is based on a prospective donor scheme, whereby people with MS and PD, and others without any neurological condition, consent to donating their brain and spinal cord after death. The tissues are retrieved rapidly after death and then processed so that they can be used for a wide variety of research techniques. Following a review of the research proposal by a panel of experts, the tissues are sent out to research teams around the world. To date the Tissue Bank has proven to be a vital component of the international fight against these devastating diseases and we are now applying for funding to maintain this important infrastructure for the next 5 years. We will continue to build on the existing foundation by embracing the latest developments in MS and PD research so that researchers are supplied with the well characterised human tissues that they need for carrying out excellent research towards the development of new therapies. The Tissue Bank itself does not carry out any research on the tissues, so the funding being requested is to enable the research of others by continuing to provide an important and efficient service.