Introduction: Brain banking remains a necessity for the study of aging brain processes and related neurodegenerative diseases. In the present paper, we report the methods applied at and the first results of the Brain Bank of the Brazilian Aging Brain Study Group (BBBABSG) which has two main aims: (1) To collect a large number of brains of elderly comprising non-demented subjects and a large spectrum of pathologies related to aging brain processes, (2) To provide quality material to a multidisciplinar research network unraveling multiple aspects of aging brain processes and related neurodegenerative diseases.

Methods: The subjects are selected from the Sao Paulo Autopsy Service. Brain parts are frozen and fixated. CSF, carotids, kidney, heart and blood are also collected and DNA is extracted. The neuropathological examinations are carried out based on accepted criteria, using immunohistochemistry. Functional status are assessed through a collateral source based on a clinical protocol. Protocols are approved by the local ethics committee and a written informed consent form is obtained.

Results: During the first 21 months, 1,602 samples were collected and were classified by Clinical Dementia Rating as CDR0: 65.7%; CDR0.5:12.6%, CDR1:8.2%, CDR2:5.4%, and CDR3:8.1%. On average, the cost for the processing each case stood at 400 US dollars. To date, 14 laboratories have been benefited by the BBBABSG.

Conclusion: The high percentage of non- demented subjects and the ethnic diversity of this series may be significantly contributive toward aging brain processes and related neurodegenerative diseases understanding since BBBABSG outcomes may provide investigators the answers to some additional questions.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10561-006-9022-zDOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

aging brain
24
brain processes
16
processes neurodegenerative
12
brain
10
brain bank
8
bank brazilian
8
brazilian aging
8
brain study
8
study group
8
neurodegenerative diseases
8

Similar Publications

Preliminary Evidence for Perturbation-Based tACS-EEG Biomarkers of Gamma Activity in Alzheimer's Disease.

Int J Geriatr Psychiatry

January 2025

Precision Neuroscience & Neuromodulation Program, Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by impaired inhibitory circuitry and GABAergic dysfunction, which is associated with reduced fast brain oscillations in the gamma band (γ, 30-90 Hz) in several animal models. Investigating such activity in human patients could lead to the identification of novel biomarkers of diagnostic and prognostic value. The current study aimed to test a multimodal "Perturbation-based" transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation-Electroencephalography (tACS)-EEG protocol to detect how responses to tACS in AD patients correlate with patients' clinical phenotype.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Artificial enforcement of the unfolded protein response (UPR) reduces disease features in multiple preclinical models of ALS/FTD.

Mol Ther

January 2025

Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Biomedical Sciences Institute (ICBM), Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; Biomedical Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile; FONDAP Center for Geroscience, Brain Health and Metabolism, Santiago, Chile; Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA. Electronic address:

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) are part of a spectrum of diseases that share several causative genes, resulting in a combinatory of motor and cognitive symptoms and abnormal protein aggregation. Multiple unbiased studies have revealed that proteostasis impairment at the level of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a transversal pathogenic feature of ALS/FTD. The transcription factor XBP1s is a master regulator of the unfolded protein response (UPR), the main adaptive pathway to cope with ER stress.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Default mode network functional connectivity as a transdiagnostic biomarker of cognitive function.

Biol Psychiatry Cogn Neurosci Neuroimaging

January 2025

Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Brain and Cognitive Science at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA; Department of Psychology, Northeastern University. Electronic address:

The default mode network (DMN) is intricately linked with processes such as self-referential thinking, episodic memory recall, goal-directed cognition, self-projection, and theory of mind. Over recent years, there has been a surge in examining its functional connectivity, particularly its relationship with frontoparietal networks (FPN) involved in top-down attention, executive function, and cognitive control. The fluidity in switching between these internal and external modes of processing-highlighted by anti-correlated functional connectivity-has been proposed as an indicator of cognitive health.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Aging is a critical factor in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline, with aging-related neuroinflammation and cellular senescence being major contributors. In the aging brain, the cerebral vascular endothelium overexpresses vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM1), activating microglia and leading to neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment. Quercetin, a natural neuroprotective agent widely used for treating neurodegenerative diseases, their therapeutic efficacy, however, is limited by its poor water solubility and inability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

DNA-binding affinity and specificity determine the phenotypic diversity in BCL11B-related disorders.

Am J Hum Genet

January 2025

Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany; Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany; Institute of Clinical Human Genetics, University Hospital Regensburg, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. Electronic address:

BCL11B is a Cys2-His2 zinc-finger (C2H2-ZnF) domain-containing, DNA-binding, transcription factor with established roles in the development of various organs and tissues, primarily the immune and nervous systems. BCL11B germline variants have been associated with a variety of developmental syndromes. However, genotype-phenotype correlations along with pathophysiologic mechanisms of selected variants mostly remain elusive.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!