RECs: a response to the articles of Nazi doctors?
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Mordini.
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Brain research, and neuroscience in general, seems to meet cultural needs rather than therapeutic necessities. There is no evidence indeed that recent findings--even if they are important--will have therapeutic application in the short run. Although indirect and direct costs of neurological and psychiatric diseases are outrageous, clinical research in these fields is not at all encouraged. Research in neuroscience seems above all interested in challenging some cultural paradigm. Likewise another great and similar venture, the Human Genome (HUGO) Project, also brain research seems to be a scientific enterprise which primarily aims at grounding human diversities on biological diversities. Yet can biology ever substitute the multiculturalist dream?
A brain bank is a prospective source of adequately collected and preserved tissues of the central nervous system obtained via a donor program, which are supplied for neurobiological research. Brain tissue banks collect brains, serum and cerebro-spinal fluid from patients suffering from neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's diseases, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis for diagnostic purposes and for the development of future diagnostic tests. To create and develop the right infrastructure underlying brain bank activities, one should have a medico-legal and ethical support according to local legislation. From an ethical point of view, brain bank activities can be divided into the following categories: a) factors related to the donor program; b) factors related to handling and management of organs; c) factors related to scientific research. The present paper deals with the above mentioned issues according to world-wide recognised ethical considerations and recommendations of several official statements, and specifies the objectives of the European Brain Bank Network (EBBN).