Scientists use living human brain tissue removed in surgery to gain clues to illness

SCIENTISTS have started harvesting the living brain tissue of patients and keeping it alive in the lab in the hope it will answer crucial questions about what causes conditions such as Alzheimer’s and autism.

Researchers at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle have become the first in the world to retain brain cells removed during operations, so they can study them while they are still sparking with electrical impulses.

Until now, scientists have been forced to rely on animal tissue to study the workings of the brain, but the human organ is vastly more complex.

Sometimes, surgeons must remove parts of the brain to reach faulty areas, or cut out a tumour, and usually the brain tissue is incinerated as medical waste. But researchers approached brain surgeons, asking if they would invite patients to donate the material, and surprisingly, dozens have agreed.

“We’ve had an incredible response rate to this,” said Dr Ed Lein, of the institute.

“The surgeons are in a position where they can explain the value of doing this to patients. For the most part,

‘For the most part, patients understand that while they are in a personally tragic situation, they can do good’

patients understand that while they are in a personally tragic situation, they can do something good that doesn’t impact the outcome of their surgery. Most of the time they are very willing.

“A lot of the community focuses on rodents. But there’s only so much one can do without knowing how good a model it is. It’s a preposterous place to be. Now we have access to these types of properties we can see really significant differences between the organisation of the human cortex and the mouse.”

The living brain tissue is oxygenated and kept alive for weeks, allowing scientists to cut it into thin sections to carry out experiments and record the electrical properties of the cells.

“The brain is a privileged organ,” Dr Lein added.

“That piece of brain was participating in that person’s thoughts not long before.

“That makes this work a lot more meaningful. We are studying an intimate piece of personality at some level.

“On the other hand, that piece of tissue isn’t conscious on its own. It is cells that can be studied.”

The technique was presented at the science conference in Seattle.