An estimated 982,000 people are living with dementia in the UK today.
By 2040 this figure is expected to rise to 1.4 million. More research is urgently needed and comparison of brain tissue from people who have had dementia with those who have not is crucial for us to find out why different types of dementia occur, how they differ and how they progress.
Clinical trials to find new drug treatments for people living with dementia rely on human post-mortem brain tissue research which is vital for the research needed for the approval of new drugs and their subsequent use in people affected by these diseases.
Help our crucial work at the South West Dementia Brain Bank
We provide researchers with access to the high-quality donated brain tissue and clinical data that they need to understand dementia and develop new treatments. Without the support of the SWDBB, dementia researchers would be held back in pushing forward their urgent research. Ensuring that we continue to operate and meet the demand for urgent research is therefore more important than ever.
Despite the numbers, dementia is still poorly understood.
For all the progress made progress in recent years, we still don’t know the precise causes of nerve cell damage in Alzheimer’s disease and the causes of dementia as a group of conditions remain even more poorly understood. Existing treatments reduce symptoms for a while but do not stop the progression of the disease. Despite this lack of a cure, human brain tissue has been critical to nearly all major advances in dementia research.
You’ll also be helping to increase the accuracy of diagnosis for those living with dementia.
The devastating effects of a dementia diagnosis are universally known. Sadly, what is less well known is that the only definite way to diagnose dementia is to examine an individual’s brain tissue after they die. Finding out the final, confirmed diagnosis is often important to the family of the donor, and sharing these findings with the healthcare professionals involved with the donor’s care can increase the accuracy of diagnosis for those who are yet to be assessed. SWDBB Manager, Dr Laura Palmer reflects:
“Brain donation is a truly altruistic gift in that tissue stored may potentially be used in hundreds of projects over decades. Each one of these individuals wanted to change the course of this devastating disease for those who came after them. I see that hope realised every day in the research that is being undertaken with their tissue and the knowledge that is being gained from it”.
Our track record
The donation of brain tissue has already led to major advances. Since 2011, the SWDBB has provided 81,577 samples to researchers, resulting in hundreds of publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Recent achievements include:
- DNA from SWDBB cases has formed part of the largest Genetic study of Vascular Cognitive Impairment (inc. vascular dementia) ever conducted, increasing our understanding of depression in people with dementia.
- Using SWDBB samples, researchers have increased our understanding of the role of reduced blood flow in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as underpinning new approaches to characterise and model vascular changes within the brain on a scale that has not previously been possible.
Thank you for your help in ensuring we can continue our important work.
The SWDBB relies solely on charitable funds. Your generosity helps us to continue to accept enough brain donations to support the demand of dementia researchers both nationally and internationally.
If you would like to make your donation in memory of a loved one, you can write your name and message in the comments section after you have made your gift.
All previous gifts and in-memory messages to the SWDBB before February 2025 can be found here.
