A freezer malfunction at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital hasseverely damaged one-third of the world"s largest collectionof autism brain samples, potentially setting back research on thedisorder by years, scientists say. An official at the renowned brain bank in Belmont discovered thatthe freezer had shut down in late May, without triggering twoalarms. Inside, they found 150 thawed brains that had turned darkfrom decay; about a third of them were part of a collection ofautism brains. "This was a priceless collection,"" said Dr.Francine Benes, director of the Harvard Brain Tissue ResourceCenter, where the brains were housed. "You can"texpress its value in dollar amounts,"" said Benes, whois leading one of two internal investigations into the freezerfailure. The damage to these brains could slow autism research by a decadeas the collection is restored, said Carlos Pardo, aneuropathologist and associate professor of neurology at JohnsHopkins University. The collection, owned by the advocacy and research organizationAutism Speaks, "yields very, very important information thatallows us to have a better understanding of what autism is, as wellas the contribution of environmental and immunefactors,"" said Pardo, whose 2004 study of brainsstored in the bank was the first to find that autism involves theimmune system. "The benefit has been great."" With that understanding, more effective treatment or preventionbecomes possible. The McLean freezer, one of 24 in the Harvard Brain Tissue ResourceCenter, was protected by two separate alarm systems, and staffchecked an external thermostat twice a day to ensure that thetissue samples were maintained at about minus-80 degrees Celsius.But on May 31, center Assistant Director George Tejada openedso-called Freezer U and wasn"t greeted by the expected blastof cold air. Though the alarms had not been triggered and theexternal thermostat read minus-79, the actual temperature was 7degrees, roughly equivalent to a refrigerator. Based on thecondition of the brains, Benes estimates the freezer had turned offthree days earlier. Benes said the situation is so unusual - the perfect storm of alarmand thermostat failure and the concentration of samples - that shecannot rule out foul play. She said she has not spoken to lawenforcement officials, pending the completion of the internalinvestigation. In the interim, she said, McLean will upgrade security in thefreezer room, which is under lock and key and watched by asurveillance camera. The freezer contained about 150 brain samples from people who haddied with a neurological condition such as autism,Parkinson"s disease, or Alzheimer"s disease, or apsychiatric one like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. More than 50 of those brains made up one-third of AutismSpeaks" Autism Tissue Program, a repository of postmortembrain tissue from children and young adults with the condition. Thenext largest autism brain bank, at the University of Maryland, hasabout 60 autism brains, according to its website. For at least 32 of the more than 50 damaged brains, the tissue hadbeen divided, with half placed in the freezers and the other halfplaced in formalin, a preservative similar to one used in gradeschool dissection classes. The preserved halves of the brainsremain, Benes said, but they yield different information than thefrozen ones. The defrosted tissue may still be useful for genetics research,said Benes, who is leading an investigation into the quality of theremaining tissue. The DNA, the strands of chemicals that make upthe genes, should be OK, she said. But other molecules, includingproteins, are probably heavily damaged. Environmental and other factors can change the proteins produced bythe genes, and it is these changes that autism researchers areeager to study, Pardo said. Autism Speaks is conducting an assessment of the viability of thespecimens for continued research. The Autism Tissue Program"swebsite lists 100 research papers published in peer-reviewedscientific journals based on these donated brains. Although it is estimated that 1 in 88 children in America haveautism, little is known about its cause and what occurs in thebrain to produce its characteristic communication difficulties,social challenges, and repetitive behaviors. The Harvard brain bank has been accepting donated brains of peoplewith autism for about two decades, so it probably will take yearsto rebuild the collection. Normally, the brains in the Autism Tissue Program"scollection are equally distributed among the freezers, but had beenconcentrated in Freezer U in late April to allow programresearchers easy access to the samples, Benes said. After that research was done, staff members were busy with otherwork and hadn"t had time to return the samples to otherfreezers, she said. "It was earmarked to be redistributed tosites in various other freezers [soon]."" Tissue bank staff members do not routinely open the freezers tocheck internal temperatures, because doing so stresses the $12,000units and exposes the samples to warmer air. The Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center is the nation"slargest and oldest federally funded brain bank and has been storingbrains for research for more than 35 years. In addition toneurological and psychiatric conditions, the bank also includesbrains from people without any known brain problems to use forcomparison. The bank has set up a toll-free number for people whoare concerned about samples: 1-877-733-4634. To donate a brain,call 1-800-272-4622. Pardo said he does not blame McLean. Most researchers have theirown freezer horror stories, he said, citing his own five years ago. "I don"t believe this is human error. I think this isjust one of those glitches that sometimes happen,"" hesaid. This incident should be a call to action for other storagefacilities and the federal government to pay more attention tofreezer safety for the sake of science and donor families, saidStephen W. Scherer, director of the McLaughlin Centre for MolecularMedicine at the University of Toronto and a senior scientist at TheHospital for Sick Children in Toronto. "The donors, they should be upset, they should realize thatthis shouldn"t happen, but this shouldn"t dissuadepeople from continuing to donate, because it is the most importantresource that autism science has right now,"" saidScherer, who has done genetic analyses of brains in the bank. "If this was to push people from donating going forward,that"s the only thing that would [make this] a worsedisaster."" Christopher LePoer of Westborough said the damage made him evenmore grateful to have donated his son Alexei"s brain to thecollection, after the 4-year-old snuck out of the house last monthand was discovered in a nearby swimming pool. Alexei"s brainwas not damaged by the freezer failure, said Benes, who notifiedthe family about the failure on Friday. Because it came in sorecently, it had been stored in another freezer. Christopher LePoer, who has six other children, none of whom hasautism, said he was shocked and touched that his son"s brainwas now one of those remaining in the brain bank, and thereforeeven more important to research. Alexei didn"t speak other than to parrot what others hadalready said, LePoer said, but he always had a smile on his face."I just keep thinking about the research and hopefully theinformation that they can get from him."" Try BostonGlobe.com today and get two weeks FREE. Karen Weintraub can be reached at . I am an expert from laseriplrf.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Fractional Laser Skin Resurfacing , IPL Laser Machines Manufacturer, Diode Laser Hair Removal Machine,and more.
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