Why is it important to have a brain autopsy?
The autopsy is essential for both diagnosis and for research.
There is a particular need for autopsy tissue from well-studied patients with a variety of neurologic illnesses. The symptoms of different patients with Alzheimer's disease are not identical, and the changes in the brain tissue seen under the microscope vary from case to case. Comparison of a patient's symptoms with changes found in the brain tissue can lead researchers to a better understanding of memory loss and other problems experienced by patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
At present, the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease can only be made with certainty at autopsy by looking at brain tissue under the microscope. Other conditions can mimic Alzheimer’s disease during life. In addition, the brain autopsy is vital for research purposes. Because there is no good animal model for Alzheimer's disease, much information on the biochemical and molecular changes in the brain tissue is derived from autopsy studies.
Finally by providing definite diagnoses, autopsies provide valuable public health information on disease incidence to Congress and others whom make decisions regarding funding for health care services and research. (However, no personal or identifying information is released.)
-from Emory University Website
Regional Centers that Perform Brain Autopsy
Emory Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Emory Alzheimer’s Disease Center