The Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center is funded by the NIH as well as several private organizations to serve as a vital resource for the collection and distribution of postmortem brain tissues for medical research into the causes of devastating neurological and psychiatric disorders. It maintains the most extensive collection of postmortem human brains from individuals with Huntington’s chorea, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and a growing number of other neurological disorders. In addition, the HBTRC also has a significant collection of brains from individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and manic depressive illness, as well as "normal-control" specimens that are essential as a comparison group for all of these brain disorders.
All tissue diagnoses are confirmed by retrospective review of clinical records and a comprehensive neuropathological examination.
With the NIH funding that supports the HBTRC, all disbursements are made at no cost to the recipient laboratory.
Tissue Availability Tissue samples are available in the following preparations:The fresh quick-frozen specimens are optimally preserved with minimal ice artifact formation. These specimens are suitable for the widest variety of applications, including receptor binding, immunocytochemistry, in situ hybridization, virus detection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), DNA sequencing, mRNA isolation, and a broad range of neurochemical assays.
If you would like to obtain human brain specimens for your research, please download our Investigator request forms. The forms should then be sent, via mail or fax to the HBTRC. All requests are reviewed in order of receipt. Upon approval, the tissue will be shipped to your location, as appropriate samples become available.
HBTRC Investigator Request Forms
In order to obtain rare Huntington's disease tissue (juvenile, at risk, grades 1 and 2) you must get approval from the Hereditary Disease Foundation.
HDF Request for Rare Human Brain Tissue Forms
Please note: Our forms are published in portable document format (PDF). In order to read the files, Adobe Acrobat Reader is required. Download your FREE copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
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