Netherlands Brain Bank
Sponsoring organization
Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience
Note: Netherlands Brain Bank is a member of BrainNet Europe.
Tissue repository website
Primary contact
Inge Huitinga, Ph.D.
De Nederlandse Hersenbank
Meibergdreef 47
1105 BA Amsterdam
Tel 31-20-56-65-499
Fax 31-20-69-18-466
Sample types available
Tissue from 3500 autopsies of donors with a variety of psychiatric and neurological disorders (including MS).
Controls are also available.
Sample-processing information
Tissue is dissected from different anatomical regions and stored in various ways. The NBB also provides CSF, plasma and sometimes the spinal cord, and dorsal root ganglia. On request, the specimens can be obtained fresh and placed in special media or fixatives according to the researcher’s protocol. DNA samples of 100 μl (10 ng/μl) are available of part of the collection. Requests for specific brain areas will be taken into account when performing autopsies.
Data available for each sample
Tissue is supplied with extensive (anonymized) clinical summaries of the donors to almost all continents. The clinical summary contains, among other things, the cause of death and the medical history (e.g., clinical course and medication use).
Quantity of available samples
1193 nondemented controls
200 multiple sclerosis
224 Parkinson’s disease
102 psychiatric disorders
383 other diagnoses than specified
894 Alzheimer’s disease
380 Non-Alzheimer dementia (such as vascular dementia and frontotemporal dementia)
150 Pathological report not ready
Who can request samples
Researchers affiliated with research institutes and pharmaceutical companies, worldwide.
Cost
A contribution of €25-€100 per tissue block, 2 ml CSF or plasma, or 20 tissue sections and €25 for 1 μg DNA.
NBB recommends that, when submitting grant proposals that plan to use NBB tissue, to contact the NBB for an estimate of the financial contribution of tissue procurement, which can be factored into the grant application budget.
How to request samples
Contact Marleen Rademaker, m.rademaker@nin.knaw.nl (management assistant), for an application form. The application will be reviewed and, if approved, the applicant will be informed about the subsequent procedure for obtaining the requested samples.
Requirements associated with sample use
None specified other than the review process.
Ongoing sample collection?
Yes; 439 multiple sclerosis patients are listed as prospective donors.
Sample Publications
Homogeneity of active demyelinating lesions in established multiple sclerosis.
Breij EC, Brink BP, Veerhuis R, van den Berg C, Vloet R, Yan R, Dijkstra CD, van der Valk P, Bö L.
Ann Neurol. 2008 Jan;63(1):16-25.
Mast cell transcripts are increased within and outside multiple sclerosis lesions.
Couturier N, Zappulla JP, Lauwers-Cances V, Uro-Coste E, Delisle MB, Clanet M, Montagne L, Van der Valk P, Bö L, Liblau RS.
J. Neuroimmunol. 2008 Mar;195(1-2):176-85.
Switch in the expression of mGlu1 and mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors in the cerebellum of mice developing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis and in autoptic cerebellar samples from patients with multiple sclerosis.
Fazio F, Notartomaso S, Aronica E, Storto M, Battaglia G, Vieira E, Gatti S, Bruno V, Biagioni F, Gradini R, Nicoletti F, Di Marco R.
Neuropharmacology. 2008 Sep;55(4):491-9.
Does high-field MR imaging improve cortical lesion detection in multiple sclerosis?
Geurts JJ, Blezer EL, Vrenken H, van der Toorn A, Castelijns JA, Polman CH, Pouwels PJ, Bö L, Barkhof F.
J Neurol. 2008 Feb;255(2):183-91.
Grey matter pathology in multiple sclerosis.
Geurts JJ, Barkhof F.
Lancet Neurol. 2008 Sep;7(9):841-51.
Multiple sclerosis as an “inside-out” disease.
Geurts JJ, Kooi EJ, Witte ME, van der Valk P.
Ann. Neurol. 2010 Nov;68(5):767-8