A small laboratory holds hundreds of human brains, labelled and ready for dissection, in the hope of one day finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease. Imperial College London is one of the UK’s Brain Banks, which were established to aid diagnoses and research into neurological disorders.
The brains are donated by members of the public, and include both those with without Parkinson’s to allow for comparisons to be made between the different tissue types.
When a donor dies their brain goes into an organic preservation compound, known as formaline, before being stored in a freezer, all within 48 hours.
The bank is due to receive its 1,000th organ donation this month.
Hope of finding a cure
Through collecting tissue from various brains, the researchers can better investigate treatments for those affected by Parkinson’s and hopefully find a cure.
Every piece of brain tissue is catalogued and given a specific barcode.
Professor Steve Gentleman, scientific director of Parkinson’s UK Brain Bank, said: ‘I’m going to dissect and sample various areas of the brain, looking for pathology at a microscopic level.’
Dr Beckie Port, research communications manager for Parkinson’s UK, added: ‘The Parkinson’s UK Brain Bank is the world’s only dedicated brain bank for Parkinson’s research.’
What is Parkinson’s disease?
Parkinson’s disease occurs when regions of the brain become progressively damaged, resulting in symptoms such as tremors, slow movement, and stiff, inflexible muscles.
Hallucinations, depression, pain, insomnia and nausea can also occur.
Parkinson’s is brought on due to the loss of nerve cells in the brain. It is unclear why this occurs but is probably due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
Around one in 500 people in the UK suffer.
Parkinson’s has no cure, with treatment focusing on slowing its progression and easing symptoms through medication, physiotherapy and, in some cases, brain surgery.
Daily Mail
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