VA Boston Brain Bank works to help Veterans with brain disease

The VA Biorepository Brain Bank (VABBB) in Boston is a human tissue bank that collects, processes, stores and gives out research specimens for future scientific studies.

The VABBB provides central nervous system tissue and health information to scientists studying disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease), disorders of Veterans of the 1990-91 Gulf War and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Pictured above, VISN 1 Network Director Ryan Lilly (left) gets a briefing from Dr. Russ Huber, staff neurologist, about the study of PTSD and how it affects the brain.  

The VABBB in Boston has long been studying ALS, “which is four times more frequent in the military population; VA has really made a big push to facilitate research to understand this disease,” said Dr. Thor Stein, Boston VABBB neuropathologist.