Southwest Brain Bank

描述(申请人提供)：双相情感障碍是一种严重的精神疾病，影响超过350万美国人。这种疾病跨越了所有性别和种族的界限，造成了广泛的病理性和死亡率。由于这给患者、他们的家人和社会带来了巨大的负担，许多支持他们的研究正在进行中，以确定病理和病理生理。到目前为止，关于双相情感障碍和其他主要精神疾病的生物学研究是诱人的，但含糊其辞。很明显，要研究这种大脑紊乱，动物模型是行不通的，需要进行尸检分析。此外，随着目前方法的进步，如使用死后组织的mRNA表达分析，对组织的发现和需求的步伐正在加快。不幸的是，国家收集工作无法为所有关于双相情感障碍的研究提供足够的组织。NIMH认识到了这个问题，并确定增加收藏是研究的优先事项。这笔R-24赠款是为了进一步将西南脑库的基础设施发展成为国家资源。西南脑库是一个脑收集机构，其目标是收集和传播严重精神病患者的脑组织，特别是双相情感障碍患者的脑组织。脑库得到了精神疾病人类死后大脑研究行政补充的启动资金，不是MH-01-010。有了这笔资金，位于圣安东尼奥的德克萨斯大学健康科学中心精神病学系建立了脑库。校园内的地理位置有几个优势。首先，我们是非常活跃的精神病学系的一部分，可以接触到它的学术优势和数千名精神病患者。其次，贝克萨尔县法医办公室和大学医院是我们主要的捐赠地点，都在校园里。由于这些因素，我们已经成功地从严重精神病患者和正常对照中招募到捐款。这笔赠款的资金将使大脑银行能够继续并扩大其成为国家资源的努力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Bipolar disorder is a severe debilitating mental illness affecting over three and half million Americans. This illness crosses all gender and ethnic boundaries to cause extensive morbidly and mortality. With this tremendous burden on the patients, their family and society who are supporting them much research is underway to identify the pathology and pathophysiology. The biological research to date on bipolar disorder and the other major mental illness is tantalizing but vague. It has become clear, that to study this brain disorder, that animal models will not work and postmortem analysis is required. Additionally, with the current methodological advances such as mRNA expression analysis, which uses postmortem tissue the pace of discovery and demand for tissue is quickening. Unfortunately, the national collection effort is unable to supply enough tissue for all studies on bipolar illness. The NIMH recognizes this problem and has determined that increasing the collection is a research priority. This R-24 grant is to further develop the infrastructure of the Southwest Brain Bank into a national resource. The Southwest Brain Bank is a brain collection facility whose goal it is to collect and disseminate brain tissue from the severely mentally ill, especially bipolar illness. The brain bank received start up funding from Administrative Supplements for Human Postmortem Brain Research in Mental Illness NOT-MH-01-010. With this funding the brain bank was established in the department of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The location on campus has several advantages. First, we are part of a very active Department of Psychiatry with access to both its academic strengths and to thousands of mentally ill patients. Second, the Medical Examiners office of Bexar County and the University Hospital, which are our major donation sites, are on campus. Because of these factors we have been successful in recruiting donations from the seriously mentally ill and normal controls. Funding for this grant will allow the Brain Bank to continue and expand its effort in becoming a national resource.