A brain is a terrible thing to waste - need for human brain tissue for research

Omni,  August, 1993  by Nina L. Diamond

Most people haven't noticed that this country is suffering from a  severe brain shortage. "Sure, I've noticed," you may chuckle,  pointing a finger at Washington or the local government of your  choice. But that's not the kind of brain shortage we're talking  about. We mean gray matter, white matter, brain tissue -- the stuff in  your head that neuroscientists need to investigate a variety of  diseases, disorders, and dilemmas.

During the Eighties, investigators learned more about the central  nervous system than in all prior human history. The Nineties promise  to be even more enlightening. "The brain is the last biological  frontier," says neuroscientist Deborah Mash, director of the  University of Miami Brain Endowment Bank. Founded in 1986, it's one  of only three general brain banks in the nation. "We need to study  the human brain postmortem--diseased brains and healthy ones for  comparison." The Miami bank has acquired nearly 200 brains in the  last six years, and 500 are pledged.

Brain banks provide tissue to researchers looking for new treatments  and cures for Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, Alzheimer's  disease, Tourette's syndrome, multiple sclerosis, Huntington's and  Lou Gehrig's diseases, Down's syndrome, depression, AIDS, and a host  of other illnesses. They're also examining how the brain is affected  by internal and external activities: genetics, stress, alcohol,  drugs, chemicals, and other toxins. And of course, they're looking to  understand the brain.

Individuals who've noted on their drivers licenses that they are  organ donors have willed everything but the brain, although most are  not aware of that. The brain is endowed separately--directly to one  of the three banks (Miami, Boston, Los Angeles) that accept all kinds  of brains or to one of the handful that specialize in one particular  disorder.

"One brain can provide enough tissue for 50 researchers," says  neuroscientist Edward Bird, director of the Brain Tissue Resource  Center at McLean Hospital of Harvard University, founded in 1978. "We  receive ten percent more brains each year than the last, and we  always have at least one thousand in our freezers. But the number of  researchers and projects is skyrocketing, and the requests will  outpace what we have at the moment."

So-called "normal" brains are just as much in demand as unhealthy  ones. "We use them as controls to compare to the diseased or impaired  brain," explains neuroscientist Wallace Tourtellotte, director of the  National Neurological Research Specimen Bank at V.A. Wadsworth  Hospital of UCLA, founded in 1961. "All banks have a shortage of  normal brains." The L.A. bank has more than 2,000 brains, collects  150 on average each year from donors, and has 1,600 pledged. "When  the donor is dying, the next of kin calls to let us know. We've made  arrangements for a place to have the brain removed, and we get the  donor's medical records, too," Tourtellotte explains.

Although the banks are in dire need of tissue, not just any old brain  will do. "The ideal situation is sudden, natural death," says Mash.  "Someone brain dead on a respirator is a bad donor, because brain  death alters cellular structure, chemistry, and electrical activity."  The brain must be removed no later than 12 hours after death. Any  later and deterioration will render it useless for research. Brains  for donation are removed by pathologists and coroners. After removal,  the entire brain is frozen and remains that way in the bank.

Donor awareness is greatest among older Americans, Mash points out,  and younger tissue is desperately needed. "We need baby-boomer  brains," she says, adding that drug-abuse studies in particular  require neural tissue from the 30- to 50-year-old crowd.

Brains of all ages are affected by disease and disorder, and Bird  notes that "there's always a shortage of young brains, particularly  children's. While families don't like doing autopsies on children,  they feel good knowing the tissue is going to a worthwhile cause."  Increasing the public's awareness of the need for brain donors is  paramount. "People think neuroscientists only work in labs with  rats," Bird says.

"Tell the people this is different," Tourtellotte says. "You don't  get an immediate return like donating your eyes and giving sight, but  the brain tissue will help us understand, treat, and cure disease."  The three general and disease-specific brain banks network with each  other. "The most exciting aspect of the system," concludes Bird, "is  how we can get so many scientists working on a disorder so quickly.  All they have to do is call for tissue."