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VA’s National PTSD Brain Bank: a National Resource for Research

  • Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders (MJ Friedman, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Psychiatry Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The National PTSD Brain Bank (NPBB) is a brain tissue biorepository established to support research on the causes, progression, and treatment of PTSD. It is a six-part consortium led by VA’s National Center for PTSD with participating sites at VA medical centers in Boston, MA; Durham, NC; Miami, FL; West Haven, CT; and White River Junction, VT along with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. It is also well integrated with VA’s Boston-based brain banks that focus on Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and other neurological disorders. This article describes the organization and operations of NPBB with specific attention to: tissue acquisition, tissue processing, diagnostic assessment, maintenance of a confidential data biorepository, adherence to ethical standards, governance, accomplishments to date, and future challenges. Established in 2014, NPBB has already acquired and distributed brain tissue to support research on how PTSD affects brain structure and function.

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Acknowledgements

NPBB is supported by VA’s National Center for PTSD. It also receives institutional support at each participating site including VA medical centers in Boston, MA; Durham, NC; Miami, FL; West Haven, CT; and White River Junction, VT along with the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences.

In addition to the authors, there are a number of other key participants in NPBB who are known collectively as the Traumatic Stress Brain Research Group. They are Victor Alvarez, M.D., Dianne Cruz, M.S., David Davis, PhD, Ronald Duman PhD, Linda Duque MS, CAP, Latease Guilderson MSW, Melanie Hardegree RN, Danny Kaloupek PhD, John Krystal MD, Deborah Mash MD, Christina Romani CTBS, Tarnjit Singh MA, Thor Stein, M.D., PhD., Douglas Williamson PhD, and Keith Young PhD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Center for PTSD, VA Medical Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 215 North Main Street, White River Junction, VT, 05009, USA

    Matthew J. Friedman

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, USA

    Matthew J. Friedman

  3. VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston University School of Medicine, 150 South Huntington Avenue, Building 1, Room 12C6, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Bertrand R. Huber, Christopher B. Brady, Neil W. Kowall & Ann C. McKee

  4. Departments of Neurology, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA

    Bertrand R. Huber, Christopher B. Brady, Neil W. Kowall & Ann C. McKee

  5. VA Boston Healthcare System (151C), 150 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02130, USA

    Christopher B. Brady, Neil W. Kowall & Ann C. McKee

  6. Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress (CSTS), Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, School of Medicine, 4301 Jones Bridge Rd, Bethesda, MD, 20814, USA

    Robert J. Ursano & David M. Benedek

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  1. Matthew J. Friedman
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  2. Bertrand R. Huber
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  3. Christopher B. Brady
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  4. Robert J. Ursano
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  5. David M. Benedek
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  6. Neil W. Kowall
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  7. Ann C. McKee
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The Traumatic Stress Brain Research Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Matthew J. Friedman.

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Conflict of Interest

Matthew J. Friedman is a section editor for Current Psychiatry Reports.

Bertrand R. Huber, Christopher B. Brady, Robert J. Ursano, David M. Benedek, Neil W. Kowall, Ann C. McKee, and The Traumatic Stress Brain Research Group each declare no potential conflicts of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Additional information

The editors would like to thank Dr. Betty Pfefferbaum for taking the time to review this manuscript.

This article is part of the Topical Collection on Disaster Psychiatry: Trauma, PTSD, and Related Disorders

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Friedman, M.J., Huber, B.R., Brady, C.B. et al. VA’s National PTSD Brain Bank: a National Resource for Research. Curr Psychiatry Rep 19, 73 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0822-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-017-0822-6

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