Brain banks and non nervous tissues

Nervous system diseases may not be confined to neural tissue, but also affect other organs. These organs could be involved indirectly or could be simultaneously affected by the same pathological process. A brain bank (BB) should also guarantee the storage of specific organs primarily or secondary affected other than nervous system. Tissues from patients with primary nervous system diseases without or with unknown systemic involvement should also be stored. Samples stored will be identified and registered in a BB database for an accurate distribution and utilization of the material. To guarantee the best quality of the material stored, several techniques for the collection and preservation (cryopreservation, chemical fixation and microwave irradiation) and tissue management are described.