About BNE  Consortium 

Kuopio, Finland

Participant 02: University of Kuopio

Project Leader

Prof. Dr. Irina Alafuzoff MD PhD Phone: +358 (17) 162877  Fax: +358 (17) 162048  Contact

Project Staff

Tarja Kauppinen Medical Laboratory Technologist   Contact

Dr. Maria Pikkarainen Team member   Contact

Dr. Laura Parkkinen Team member   Contact

Institute Presentation

Kuopio Brain Bank was established in 1991 in association to the Department of Neuroscience and Neurology, at Kuopio University. The task was to sample brain tissue for the ongoing research projects carried out by the clinical and basic scientist of the department.
In the beginning of 1990, the primary topic of research at the Department of Neuroscience and Neurology was Alzheimer's Disease, whereas today, the research activities cover in addition to Alzheimer's disease, the aging phenomenon and other degenerative brain disorders of the aged individuals.

During the first years, the sampling of tissue was carried out by neurologist and basic scientist, whereas in 1996, the department employed a neuropathologist to be primarily responsible for both the collection and diagnostics of the brain samples included in the Brain Bank. Since 1996, Kuopio Brain Bank is managed by Irina Alafuzoff MD PhD
The Brain Bank operates according to the legal regulations of Finland. Sampling of tissue for future use as such is not permitted in Finland, whereas sampling of tissue for ongoing research carried out on human tissue following specific legal regulations is accepted. The approval for sampling of fresh frozen brain tissue at autopsy for research has been obtained from the Finnish National Board of Medicolegal Affairs. In addition, as required, permission to use primarily for diagnostics sampled brain tissue specimens for research has been applied from the Ethical Committee of Kuopio University Hospital. The ethical permission is applied separately for each ongoing research project.

The Kuopio Brain Bank includes brain samples from aged unimpaired subjects and subjects with clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, various Lewy Body diseases or tauopathies. The brain samples are stored either (a) frozen or (b) paraformaldehyde fixed, cryoprotected and frozen or (c) fixed and paraffin embedded. The ongoing research projects at the Department of Neuroscience and Neurology include clinico-pathological studies and studies targeted on identification of risk factors and search for specific diagnostic markers of the diseases mentioned above. More information can be found at www.uku.fi/neuro/

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