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Griffin CP, Bowen JR, Walker MM, Lynam J, Paul CL. Understanding the value of brain donation for research to donors, next-of-kin and clinicians: A systematic review. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0295438. [PMID: 38117774 PMCID: PMC10732432 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/22/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE Post-mortem brain donation affords the opportunity to characterise disease by exploring global neuropathological changes. Such opportunities are essential to progress knowledge of CNS tumours such as Glioblastoma. A comprehensive understanding of the experience of consenting to brain donation is crucial to maximising consent rates while providing patient-centred care. This review aimed to synthesise the reported facilitators and barriers according to potential donors, next-of-kin (NOK) and clinician respondents. DESIGN Database searches included Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioural Science and Scopus. Search terms focused on motivations, attitudes and psychosocial experiences of brain donation. Exclusions included organ transplantation and brain death. All studies were assessed for quality and validity using tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute. To determine perceptions of benefit and harm, a method guided by the thematic analysis of Braun and Clarke was employed to reflexively assess and identify common themes and experiences. RESULTS 40 studies (15 qualitative, 25 quantitative) were included involving participants with paediatric cancer, neurodegenerative and psychological diseases. Perceptions of benefit included benefit to future generations, aiding scientific research, avoidance of waste, improved treatments and the belief that donation will bring consolation or aid in the grieving process. Perceptions of harm included a perceived conflict with religious beliefs, disfigurement to the donor, emotional distress at the time of autopsy and discord or objections within the family. CONCLUSION Brain donation can afford a sense of purpose, meaning and empowerment for donors and their loved ones. Careful strategies are required to mitigate or reduce potential harms during the consent process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cassandra P. Griffin
- College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle, Tamworth, NSW, Australia
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Jenna R. Bowen
- College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle, Tamworth, NSW, Australia
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Marjorie M. Walker
- College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle, Tamworth, NSW, Australia
| | - James Lynam
- College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle, Tamworth, NSW, Australia
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
- Department of Medical Oncology, Calvary Mater, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
| | - Christine L. Paul
- College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle, Tamworth, NSW, Australia
- Hunter Medical Research Institute, Newcastle, NSW, Australia
- Priority Research Centre Cancer Research, Innovation and Translation, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
- Priority Research Centre Health Behaviour, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, Australia
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Scalco R, Saito N, Beckett L, Nguyen ML, Huie E, Wang HP, Flaherty DA, Honig LS, DeCarli C, Rissman RA, Teich AF, Jin LW, Dugger BN. The neuropathological landscape of Hispanic and non-Hispanic White decedents with Alzheimer disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:105. [PMID: 37386610 PMCID: PMC10311731 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01574-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the increasing demographic diversity of the United States' aging population, there remain significant gaps in post-mortem research investigating the ethnoracial heterogeneity in the neuropathological landscape of Alzheimer Disease (AD). Most autopsy-based studies have focused on cohorts of non-Hispanic White decedents (NHWD), with few studies including Hispanic decedents (HD). We aimed to characterize the neuropathologic landscape of AD in NHWD (n = 185) and HD (n = 92) evaluated in research programs across three institutions: University of California San Diego, University of California Davis, and Columbia University. Only persons with a neuropathologic diagnosis of intermediate/high AD determined by NIA Reagan and/or NIA-AA criteria were included. A frequency-balanced random sample without replacement was drawn from the NHWD group using a 2:1 age and sex matching scheme with HD. Four brain areas were evaluated: posterior hippocampus, frontal, temporal, and parietal cortices. Sections were stained with antibodies against Aβ (4G8) and phosphorylated tau (AT8). We compared the distribution and semi-quantitative densities for neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), neuropil threads, core, diffuse, and neuritic plaques. All evaluations were conducted by an expert blinded to demographics and group status. Wilcoxon's two-sample test revealed higher levels of neuritic plaques in the frontal cortex (p = 0.02) and neuropil threads (p = 0.02) in HD, and higher levels of cored plaques in the temporal cortex in NHWD (p = 0.02). Results from ordinal logistic regression controlling for age, sex, and site of origin were similar. In other evaluated brain regions, semi-quantitative scores of plaques, tangles, and threads did not differ statistically between groups. Our results demonstrate HD may be disproportionately burdened by AD-related pathologies in select anatomic regions, particularly tau deposits. Further research is warranted to understand the contributions of demographic, genetic, and environmental factors to heterogeneous pathological presentations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Scalco
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Naomi Saito
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Laurel Beckett
- Division of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health Sciences, University of California Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - My-Le Nguyen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Emily Huie
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Hsin-Pei Wang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Delaney A Flaherty
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Brain, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lawrence S Honig
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Brain, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Charles DeCarli
- Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
| | - Robert A Rissman
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Andrew F Teich
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Brain, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer's Disease and Aging Brain, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lee-Way Jin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
| | - Brittany N Dugger
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California Davis, 4645 2Nd Ave, 3400A Research Building III, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
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Marrie RA, Kosowan L, Cutter GR, Fox RJ, Salter A. Attitudes of people with multiple sclerosis toward brain donation. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1115303. [PMID: 36779059 PMCID: PMC9909011 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1115303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Research directly examining brain tissue has played an important role in understanding the pathology and pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and other diseases of the central nervous system. Such research relies heavily on donations of post-mortem brain tissue yet little is known about the attitudes of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) about brain donation. We aimed to assess the attitudes of people with MS toward brain donation, their preferences related to discussions of brain donation, and factors associated with attitudes toward brain donation including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, health literacy and religiosity. Methods In a cross-sectional study, we surveyed participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry regarding their attitudes toward brain donation, reasons for participating or not participating in brain donation, and related communication preferences. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to test factors associated with attitudes regarding brain donation. Results Most of the 4,520 participants were women (80.8%), self-identified as white (88.1%), with a post-secondary education, functional health literacy and moderate-severe disability. Sixty-two percent of participants would consider brain donation. Factors associated with considering brain donation included female gender, having a post-secondary education, being physically active, having moderate-severe disability and more comorbidities, and alcohol intake. Seventy-five percent of participants indicated that they preferred to receive information regarding brain donations from physicians. Conclusion Two-thirds of people with MS would consider brain donation. People with MS desire to hear about brain donation from their health care providers rather than other sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruth Ann Marrie
- Department of Internal Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada,Department of Community Health Sciences, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada,*Correspondence: Ruth Ann Marrie ✉
| | - Leanne Kosowan
- Department of Family Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Gary R. Cutter
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama in Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States
| | - Robert J. Fox
- Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, United States
| | - Amber Salter
- Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX, United States
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