Searchable Online Database for MRC UK Brain Banks Network
Research type
Research Database
IRAS ID
235964
Contact name
Colin Smith
Contact email
Research summary
MRC UK Brain Banks Network database
REC name
West of Scotland REC 4
REC reference
18/WS/0031
Date of REC Opinion
10 May 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion
Data collection arrangements
The database holds data on brain and spinal cord tissue samples that are available from each of the 10 brain banks across the UK. Data are stored for each brain on the date of death, the age of the donor at death (to the nearest year only), gender and ethnicity of the donor but no other personal identifiers, together with information on clinical findings, medication history, cause of death, neuropathological findings, scope of consent for and the availability of different types of tissue (frozen, fixed, paraffin-embedded, cerebrospinal fluid). In some cases, information is also held on gene polymorphisms or mutations that are associated with increased or decreased risk of neurological disease (APOE, occasionally other genes). The information is all provided by the individual brain banks within the MRC UK Brain Bank Network, each having research ethics approval for the collection and storage of brain tissue samples and accompanying patient data, and to function as research tissue biobanks. In total, there are about 700-800 new brain donations to the brain banks each year, and the data on those brains are uploaded on a regular basis (usually weekly or monthly, depending on the brain bank) to the UK Brain Banks Network database.
Research programme
The UK Brain Banks Network supports a wide range of research into the causes and associations, clinical and neuropathological manifestations, diagnosis and effects of treatment of diseases affecting the central nervous system. The main purpose of the UK Brain Banks Network is to provide researchers with information on the availability of tissue suitable for their research needs and the brain banks that hold that tissue. All 10 of the brain banks have their own generic research ethics approval for the collection and storage of brain tissue samples and accompanying patient data, and for function as research tissue biobanks. However, it is also possible to conduct research using the database but without requesting brain tissue (e.g. on the relationship between particular clinical diagnoses and the corresponding neuropathological findings as recorded in the database). The scope of such research is limited to that of the UK Brain Banks Network itself (i.e. to the causes and associations, clinical and neuropathological manifestations, diagnosis and effects of treatment of diseases affecting the central nervous system) by the information recorded in the database.
Research database title
MRC UK Brain Banks Network database
Establishment organisation
University of Bristol
Establishment organisation address
Senate House
Tyndall Avenue
Bristol
BS8 1TH