Title: Neuropathology at a Destination Medical Center: Insights from Clinicopathologic Studies

Speaker: Dennis W. Dickson, M.D.

Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida USA

http://www.mayo.edu/research/faculty/dickson-dennis-w-m-d/bio-00027499

Time: May 29th, 2018 13:00-15:00

Location: Room 1113, Wang Kezhen Building

Abstract: 

The brain bank for neurodegenerative disorders at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, has been a key contributor to research on aging and neurodegenerative disorders of the brain for more than 20 years.  Brains are donated by the legal next-of-kin from participants in prospective longitudinal studies, some of which also include neuropsychology and neuroimaging.  Other brains are from donors with less common disorders that produce dementia or movement disorders.  The latter include frontotemporal dementias and Parkinsonian disorders.  The brains receive standardized and quantitative neuropathologic evaluations that include fluorescence microscopy and immunohistochemistry.  Diagnostic parameters are recorded in a systematic manner, and these data can be used for correlative research studies.  Almost all brains have both fixed and frozen samples.  Frozen tissue is used for a number of basic studies by research laboratories at Mayo Clinic, but also outside the clinical in the USA and in foreign countries, as well. DNA isolated from frozen brain tissue is valuable for a range of genetic studies, including gene discovery in familial disorders, genome wide association studies and most recently whole genome and transcriptome profiling using next generation sequencing methods.  Several disease-causing mutations have been discovered using DNA samples from postmortem brains, including common genetic forms of Parkinson’s disease (LRRK2) and frontotemporal dementia (GRN and C9ORF72).  Quantitative neuropathologic data have been used to define clinicopathologic subtypes of common disorders, such as Alzheimers disease, Lewy body disease and progressive supranuclear palsy.  This presentation emphasizes the importance of postmortem studies of brain to advance knowledge of neurodegenerative and aging-related diseases.

Host PI: Prof. Yan Zhang