MRC Network of UK Brain Banks: Support for the Coordinating Centre

The UK is facing a major challenge to health services, carers and the economy in dealing with the increasing numbers of individuals who are suffering from progressive neurological diseases such as Alzheimer?s disease and Parkinson?s disease. As the population ages, increasing numbers of individuals are likely to develop these diseases and this places a high priority on improving our knowledge of these diseases, the mechanisms through which the brain is damaged, and identifying new opportunities for treatment and for better diagnostic tests in living patients. The aim of the Network of UK brain banks is to support this vital research by making brain tissue samples of the highest quality available to researchers in the UK. The Network will also address the shortage of normal tissue samples that are required as control material for the disease tissue samples. The Network will allow its members to work together in a more co-ordinated way, resulting in a more flexible and cost-efficient operation. The benefits of the Network for researchers will also be increased by creating a website that allows easy access to information on the nature and type of brain tissue samples stored in the various banks across the UK. The Network will also use the website to provide new information to potential brain tissue donors, and will direct these towards the most appropriate donor scheme operating at one of the banks in the Network. This project will therefore enable more research, not just into Alzheimer?s disease but into a wider range of neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases, such as motor neurone disease and schizophrenia. These devastating disorders represent a major challenge for 21st century health care and have been identified as a priority area for the NHS. This Network will support the excellent research already being undertaken in the UK, and allow it to develop further at a faster rate than currently is possible. The Network will also provide a focus for the general public in understanding more about brain tissue donation, and this increased awareness will also help support research in the UK.

This application seeks to secure support for the co-ordinating centre for the MRC Network of Brain Banks in the UK. This MRC initiative is designed to facilitate research into human neurological and psychiatric diseases by ensuring uniformly high standards of operation and the collection of samples fit for the purposes of 21st century science. The Network will also address the current shortage of control brain tissue samples, initially by facilitating exchange and use of current samples, and later by seeking to develop additional means of collection. The Network will develop a database and web site; the database will contain data from existing UK brain banks in order to allow researchers to identify whether samples required for their research are available and to quickly locate the most appropriate source. This data are very large (thousands of tissue samples) and complex in terms of information on clinical and pathological features, the anatomical regions of the brain sampled and the formats for storage. The construction of a searchable database that will include this complex data will require substantial input from a full time database manager, with additional programming support. The website will also contain information for potential donors and will facilitate donation by directing potential donors to the most appropriate banks for further information and registration. The Network Director runs the co-ordinating centre and will be responsible for the work of the support staff ? a database manager and a part-time personal assistant, essential for supporting the Director and acing as Network co-ordinator. The activities of the Network will be overseen by a Steering Group, and work of the Network will be informed by a scientific users group to ensure that the material collected and stored is suitable for the diverse scientific needs of researchers. A Management Group comprising the principal investigators from each bank will function as an operational body to agree and develop standards of operation on tissue sampling, storage, analysis and labelling, and ethics and governance mechanisms. The Network will support research in the UK funded not only by the MRC, but by other funding bodies and charities, in order to advance understanding of common neurodegenerative disorders and neuropsychiatric diseases that place an enormous burden on patients, their carers and the National Health Service. The co-ordinating centre is a key component of the Network and will act as a focal contact point for scientists, media and the public alike.