Assessing human brain slices as ‘benchtop’ injury models
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing the feasibility of using human brain tissue slices derived from excised tissue of Chiari malformation patients as laboratory based neurological injury models
IRAS ID
195636
Contact name
Divya Chari
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Research and Clinical Governance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 27 days
Research summary
Assessing human brain slices as ‘benchtop’ injury models
Using live animal models to test new therapies for brain and spinal cord repair is a controversial subject for public and scientific communities. These concerns are both ethical (with potential for substantial suffering to animals) and scientific, where animal models have overwhelmingly failed to predict human responses. This 12 month pilot study aims to address these issues by attempting to create a reliable dish model of brain disorders using human tissue. To do this, a team of scientists and neurosurgeons will work together to grow slices of brain which is removed during decompression surgery from patients with a condition called Chiari malformation (where part of the brain is pushed down towards the spinal cord). Such slices can be kept alive in a laboratory dish and retain many characteristics of intact brain tissue. Importantly for testing clinical therapies, injuries can be introduced into the slices to mimic debilitating neurological conditions. We aim to develop a human dish model of Multiple Sclerosis, a condition where the protective covering around nerve cells is destroyed. Models such as this can have huge impact in reducing animal usage and providing a medically relevant system for testing therapies in a dish before clinical trials are commenced.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/YH/0010
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jan 2017
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion