31 January 2018
In Bristol there are an estimated 4,500 people living with dementia, a condition associated with a decline in memory or other thinking skills that is severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. The South West Dementia Brain Bank (SWDBB), in University of Bristol, is housed within the Learning & Research building at Southmead Hospital. It is a resource for the banking of brain tissue generously donated by people to support research into dementia and other neurological conditions and has the potential to contribute to our understanding of the underlying diseases or to be of value to those affected and their families. Almost all major advances in our understanding and pharmacological treatment of dementia have been based on research using human brain tissue.
Professor Seth Love (SWDBB Director) and Dr Laura Palmer (SWDBB Manager), pictured right, welcomed Lord-Lieutenant Mrs Peaches Golding OBE to the SWDBB for a tour of the facilities and to share details of updates in dementia research. The causes of dementia are largely unknown and treatment options are limited. Comparison of brain tissue from people who had a disease that caused dementia (such as Alzheimer's disease) with that from people who did not have the disease, helps researchers to identify abnormalities that are specific to the disease and contribute to its development. Over the last 3 years, the SWDBB received 79 requests for tissue and provided 12,986 tissue samples.
The SWDBB is currently the co-ordinating centre for the Medical Research Council UK Brain Banks Network, and Professor Love is the Director of the Network. It is also the lead site in the piloting and implementation of modernisation of the Network through the introduction of a digitised sample tracking system that allows real-time assessment of the entire catalogue of tissue available for research from all 10 UK brain banks. We have an urgent need for research if we are to make progress in the treatment of dementia, and comparison of brain tissue from people who had dementia with that from people who did not have dementia is a central part of that research effort To find out more about supporting the SWDBB fundraising efforts please visit the JustGiving page: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/southwestdementiabrainbank