{"id":16678,"date":"2023-06-27T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-27T14:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=16678"},"modified":"2023-06-28T06:41:25","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T06:41:25","slug":"va-boston-brain-bank-works-to-help-veterans-with-brain-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=16678","title":{"rendered":"VA Boston Brain Bank works to help Veterans with brain disease"},"content":{"rendered":"

The VA Biorepository Brain Bank<\/a> (VABBB) in Boston is a human tissue bank that collects, processes, stores and gives out research specimens for future scientific studies.<\/p>\n

The VABBB provides central nervous system tissue and health information to scientists studying disorders such as\u00a0amyotrophic lateral sclerosis\u00a0(ALS, Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease), <\/strong>disorders of Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War and\u00a0posttraumatic stress disorder\u00a0(PTSD).\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pictured above, VISN 1<\/a> Network Director Ryan Lilly (left) gets a briefing from Dr. Russ Huber, staff neurologist, about the study of PTSD and how it affects the brain. \u00a0<\/p>\n

The VABBB in Boston has long been studying ALS, \u201cwhich is four times more frequent in the military population; VA has really made a big push to facilitate research to understand this disease,\u201d said Dr. Thor Stein, Boston VABBB neuropathologist.<\/p>\n

Any Veteran with ALS is eligible to enroll in study<\/h2>\n

According to Stein, any Veteran around the country diagnosed with ALS is eligible to enroll in this study. The VABBB enrolls the Veteran for life and has a number of clinical questionnaires and other items they perform with the Veteran. When the Veteran dies, the Veteran\u2019s brain and spinal cord is donated to the VABBB.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we receive the donation, our charge is twofold. We bank the tissue to be used for research and we do a very comprehensive neuro diagnosis to understand what was going on with the brain. And then we share those results with the Veteran\u2019s family if they desire,\u201d Stein said.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>
Dr. Thor Stein<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Other brain bank studies include understanding PTSD in the Veteran population and in civilians, and a Gulf War brain bank study for Gulf War illnesses and their effects on the brain.<\/p>\n

Through a partnership with Boston University, VABBB has an Alzheimer\u2019s disease brain bank and an athletes brain bank study where they look at athletes and Veterans who played contact sports and have a history of repetitive head impacts.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe PTSD brain bank has a significant challenge in identifying the underlying pathology in traumatic stress because of the lack of a specific marker for PTSD. The brain of someone with PTSD looks the same as someone without the condition,\u201d said Huber. \u201cOur research has focused on two main areas\u2014the transcriptional signature of PTSD and the microstructural changes in PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n

Team at the forefront of cutting-edge research<\/h2>\n

Huber further explained, \u201cWork within VISN 1<\/a> and with other VA brain bank partners has provided details about the transcriptional changes in brain regions involved in PTSD. In my laboratory, we are exploring the synaptic and connective changes using three-dimensional microscopy that can resolve individual synapses in the brain. This work has demonstrated a difference in the connectivity in the fear response network and the regions that modulate this network.\u201d<\/p>\n

The work of the PTSD brain bank will provide targets for future therapies and biomarkers that will allow physicians to follow the progression of PTSD and have an objective way of monitoring the efficacy of treatments.<\/p>\n

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\"VA<\/a>
Dr. Russ Huber discusses the physical differences between a brain that has suffered traumatic injury and one from an individual who suffered from PTSD.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI am extremely proud of our team at the Boston brain bank,\u201d said Lilly. \u201cThey are at the forefront of cutting-edge research and academics. I believe the work they\u2019re doing will advance the field of brain disease study and it will greatly help our Veterans for generations to come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enroll to help with critical shortage of tissue<\/h2>\n

Scientists studying neurological disorders must compare brain tissue donated by people affected by these diseases with tissue from people who\u00a0are not\u00a0affected by them to understand the causes of these conditions. Yet, most brain banks, including the VABBB, have critical shortages of tissue from those without these brain disorders (known as \u201ccontrol tissue\u201d).\u00a0Therefore, obtaining brain tissue from those without brain disorders is also critical to research.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you enroll in the brain bank program, it\u2019s really to help others in the future so we can ultimately develop treatments and therapies. It\u2019s an amazing thing. I get many Veterans who enroll in the study who say to me, \u2018I know this isn\u2019t going to help me, but I don\u2019t want other Veterans to suffer like I have,\u2019\u201d said Stein.<\/p>\n

Any Veteran living in the United States may enroll in the VABBB.\u00a0Some non-Veterans may also be eligible to enroll. Please see below for information on how to enroll in our study.<\/p>\n

VABBB currently enrolling persons with these and other neurological conditions:<\/h2>\n