This week Dr Aoife Kiely from Alzheimer's Society and Dr Katie Subbs from Alzheimer's Research UK talk with Dr Kirsty McAleese and Dr Keeley Brookes about their work on Brains for Dementia Research.

Brains for Dementia Research (BDR) was set up in 2007 to establish a network of brain bank facilities across England and Wales.

It is now a ‘gold standard’ for brain tissue banking, linking six leading centres (based in London, Oxford, Newcastle, Bristol, Manchester and Cardiff) in a network of common standards, best practice and cooperation. This lays the foundation to enable the highest quality dementia research, which aims to find a cure for dementia.

In each bank, people with mild cognitive impairment or a diagnosis of dementia, and healthy participants, are supported to donate their brain by specialist research nurses.

This initiative is unique from other brain banks, as the memory, thinking and behaviour of each prospective donor are monitored throughout their later life through regular assessments. This provides researchers with a complete medical history to accompany the donated brain tissue, allowing them to see how brain changes correlate with symptoms.

To find out more about the BDR service, and how it could help your research visit: http://www.brainsfordementiaresearch.org.uk/

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www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk