Autopsy Program
The UCSF Memory and Aging Center provides a brain
autopsy service for patients registered and seen at UCSF. Our autopsy
program is associated primarily with various ongoing research projects.
The Value
Autopsy findings can provide the most complete understanding
of a patient’s disease and are invaluable to both families
and researchers. They can be summed up as follows:
- With an autopsy, the effects of a neurodegenerative disease
on the brain can be studied in detail and evaluated visually.
- Without brain tissue donations, the development of better treatment
for future generations would be severely limited.
- Many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease,
frontotemporal dementia, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can only
be proven with certainty through an autopsy. The diagnosis given
in a clinical setting is based on neurological, neuropsychological,
and radiological assessments. However, this diagnosis is only
possibly or probably certain, but never definitive without an
autopsy. By confirming or refuting our clinical diagnosis, the
autopsy improves our ability to diagnose diseases earlier and
more accurately.
Autopsy and The Family
An autopsy is also valuable for patients’ families. The results of an
autopsy may provide closure for family members since the final and most accurate
diagnosis may otherwise be left unknown.
An autopsy does not delay or complicate any funeral,
cremation, or burial plans. Removal of the brain does not prevent
an open casket or other traditional funeral arrangements. In most
cases, the autopsy plan is compatible with the family’s choice
of funeral home. Requests to withdraw from the autopsy program
will be honored at any time, even after prior agreement to participate.
Who Participates
The following groups of patients are currently involved in the autopsy program at the Memory and Aging Center:
- Participants of the “Frontotemporal Dementia: Genes, Images, and Emotions” study
- Participants of the “New Approaches to the Heterogeneity of Dementia” study
- Participants of the “Subcortical Ischemic Vascular Dementia (SIVD)” study
- Participants of the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) research program
- Participants seen in UCSF's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC)
- Clinic patients who are interested in the autopsy program
The services used for brain tissue recovery are:
For more information:
Please contact Kelly Creighton at (415) 476-1681 or kcreighton@memory.ucsf.edu.
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