Objectives: There is an urgent need for implementation of new brain banks in psychiatric research. Our objectives are to collect human brains based on a structured protocol to avoid biases and limitations faced by previous initiatives and to perform design-based neurostereological analysis of well-characterized postmortem human brain tissue of subjects affected by bipolar disorder (BD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and matched controls.
Methods: We will collect 10 brains of BD patients, 10 brains of OCD patients, and 20 brains of matched control. One hemisphere will be perfused with formalin and processed using an optimal method for neurostereological studies. The other hemisphere will be dissected and frozen for further molecular studies.
Results: To date, we collected 16 brains; 10 were excluded for not meeting one of the selection criteria. Six were included: two from subjects with subthreshold OCD, one BD, one major depressive disorder, one alcohol and drugs addiction, and one with obsessive compulsive symptoms. The mean age at death was 65.9±8.12 years. The postmortem interval mean (PMI) was 14h54min and the cerebrospinal fluid pH mean 7.23±0.9.
Conclusions: This collection was designed to allow a high quality and minimal bias on stereological analysis. The short PMI, suitable pH and the chosen protocol offer a unique opportunity to advance the understanding on neuropsychiatric diseases.