Locating biospecimens
NACC has gathered data since 1984 on various tissues stored at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) for their subjects. Some tissues are from autopsy, and some are from living subjects. Postmortem specimens include brain tissue (frozen, formalin-fixed, and paraffin-block) and CSF. Antemortem specimens include DNA, serum, and CSF. Clinical and pathological features characterizing the subjects who supplied tissue are defined in the MDS, UDS, or NP data forms or guidebooks.
Tissue location request form
To find ADRCs that may have specimens from the well characterized participants in NACC’s longitudinal UDS available at their Center, you should submit a tissue location request and provide NACC with a brief description of the type(s) of tissue you seek, and any parameters needed to narrow your selection. NACC will send you a Quick Access file which you will need to narrow down to your sample using tips from the NACC team. Once you have your dataset narrowed down to your sample of interest, NACC can provide relevant contact information for the Centers in your sample so that you can contact them for sharing.
Biospecimen Resource Locator Tool
On the other hand, if the specimens you seek need not be from NACC’s UDS participants, you should explore NACC’s NP & Biospecimen Resource Locator Tool, below. The tool contains information on specimens banked at the ADRCs from subjects that may or may not be represented in the UDS. The tool allows the user to filter by tissue type, neuropathologic disease, and so on, and provides contact information for those at the center responsible for biospecimen-sharing requests.
Please note that the tissues reported as stored at the ADRC may not reflect the Center’s current inventory, as tissue samples may be depleted over time or be unavailable for sharing. Thus, all estimates of availability are rough estimates.