London Movement Disorders Centre Southwestern Ontario Brain Bank
In 2018, Parkinson Society Southwestern Ontario awarded Dr. Mandar Jog, London Movement Disorders Centre and Lawson Research Institute $96,000 for the establishment of a Brain Bank in Southwestern Ontario.
Donation of human brains for research remains absolutely essential to improve our understanding of the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson disease (PD), as current cellular and animal models do not fully recapitulate the complexity of human disease. Brain banks are key resources that promote translational research by providing an interface between personal donation and research laboratories. In essence, they function to collect, catalogue and preserve neurological tissue, with the overall intention to distribute and study, while adhering to legal government and institutional guidelines).
To date, brain banks have been critical in improving our understanding of the pathogenesis and manifestations of neurological disorders, as well as developing novel diagnostic and treatment strategies. In PD, the use of brain banks has allowed for investigations into the etiology of the disease through evidence that PD may represent a vesicular storage disease and may originate in the gut. In addition, tissue obtained from brain banks has identified distinct underlying pathologies in PD patients suggesting distinct subtypes of patients with distinct motor phenotypes. Ultimately, this may have implications to future personalized treatment strategies for distinct populations of PD patients.