News
Shortage of brains for mental health research
2003-04-23
“We have a shortage of brains.” This is what was revealed by Ms. Danielle Cécyre, coordinator of the Brain Bank of the Douglas Hospital Research Centre. During National Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Week, which is being held until Sunday April 27, Cécyre has a delicate task: increasing the public’s awareness to brain donation.
“By signing the back of a Medicare card, it allows doctors, at time of death, to remove vital organs that can only be used for transplants. The majority of people ignore that they can, simply by signing another form, donate their brain, which will be used for mental health research,” explains Cécyre.
The brain is so precious to neuroscience researchers that they call it “L’Or gris”. It allows them to study and better understand diseases that affect the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, schizophrenia or depression, and help individuals who suffer from them.
There is a growing number of people who suffer from neurodegenerative and mental illnesses. As a result, research projects are increasing rapidly, thus making it important for researchers to have access to a variety of brain tissues easily. “We have an urgent need for brains that come from healthy individuals in order to compare them with others that have abnormalities. This being said, we also have a pressing need for brains that have been affected by neurological or mental disorders” indicates Cécyre.
Simple procedures have been established to authorize brain donation. Individuals who are interested or would like to have more information can call the Douglas Hospital at (514) 761-6131, extension “0” and ask for the Brain Bank. There are no age restrictions for donor.
Founded in 1980, the Douglas Hospital Research Center’s Brain Bank is the oldest in Canada and one of the two most important in size. It provides the scientific community with precious samples of brain tissues of optimal quality and preservation. Presently, the Brain Bank owns several hundreds of frozen brains (in total, 1,339 brains have been donated since 1980). It has allowed for researchers at the Douglas and elsewhere to make important scientific discoveries, most notably in the domains of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease and multiple sclerosis. The Brain Bank is subsidized by the Quebec Mental Health and Neuroscience Network of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec
(FRSQ).
“By signing the back of a Medicare card, it allows doctors, at time of death, to remove vital organs that can only be used for transplants. The majority of people ignore that they can, simply by signing another form, donate their brain, which will be used for mental health research,” explains Cécyre.
The brain is so precious to neuroscience researchers that they call it “L’Or gris”. It allows them to study and better understand diseases that affect the nervous system, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, schizophrenia or depression, and help individuals who suffer from them.
There is a growing number of people who suffer from neurodegenerative and mental illnesses. As a result, research projects are increasing rapidly, thus making it important for researchers to have access to a variety of brain tissues easily. “We have an urgent need for brains that come from healthy individuals in order to compare them with others that have abnormalities. This being said, we also have a pressing need for brains that have been affected by neurological or mental disorders” indicates Cécyre.
Simple procedures have been established to authorize brain donation. Individuals who are interested or would like to have more information can call the Douglas Hospital at (514) 761-6131, extension “0” and ask for the Brain Bank. There are no age restrictions for donor.
Founded in 1980, the Douglas Hospital Research Center’s Brain Bank is the oldest in Canada and one of the two most important in size. It provides the scientific community with precious samples of brain tissues of optimal quality and preservation. Presently, the Brain Bank owns several hundreds of frozen brains (in total, 1,339 brains have been donated since 1980). It has allowed for researchers at the Douglas and elsewhere to make important scientific discoveries, most notably in the domains of schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease and multiple sclerosis. The Brain Bank is subsidized by the Quebec Mental Health and Neuroscience Network of the Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec
(FRSQ).
Information
Florence Meney
Media Relation
Communications and public affairs
Phone: 514-761-6131, ext. 2769
Cell.: 514-835-3236
florence_dot_meney_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca
