A shortage of donated brain tissue is hampering research into diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and dementia, a team of British scientists warned yesterday (Jan. 6).

About 10,000 brains are used for scientific research in the UK. But researchers say that they need thousands more fresh organs from donors with both diseased and healthy brains. There are currently only 20 brains to study autism and 30 brains to research Alzheimer's in the country.

"There's a great opportunity to facilitate important research to discover cures and treatments which would go unfulfilled if we don't increase the number of brains available for research," said Paul Francis, a neurochemist at King's College London, at a press conference in London.

The UK Medical Research Council is setting up a telephone help line for people wishing to sign up with one of Britain's dozen or so brain banks, the Guardian reported.

This isn't the first time the British scientists have call for more brains. Five years ago, a governmental inquiry found that thousands of brains had been collected from postmortem examinations without proper consent and were still held at centers throughout the country. Scientists feared that a public backlash would reduce the number of brains for research; then, as now, they cited the need for more organ donors.

Image: flickr/Gaetan Lee


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