Clinicopathological Correlations of Neurodegenerative Diseases in the National Brain Biobank of Korea
- Author:
Young Hee JUNG
1
;
Jun Pyo KIM
;
Hee Jin KIM
;
Hyemin JANG
;
Hyun Jeong HAN
;
Young Ho KOH
;
Duk L. NA
;
Yeon-Lim SUH
;
Gi Yeong HUH
;
Jae-Kyung WON
;
Seong-Ik KIM
;
Ji-Young CHOI
;
Sang Won SEO
;
Sung-Hye PARK
;
Eun-Joo KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:ORIGINAL ARTICLE
- From:Journal of Clinical Neurology 2025;21(3):190-200
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Background:and Purpose The National Brain Biobank of Korea (NBBK) is a brain bank consortium supported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Korea National Institute of Health, and was launched in 2015 to support research into neurodegenerative disease dementia (NDD). This study aimed to introduce the NBBK and describes clinicopathological correlations based on analyses of data collected from the NBBK.
Methods:Four hospital-based brain banks have been established in South Korea: Samsung Medical Center Brain Bank (SMCBB), Seoul National University Hospital Brain Bank (SNUHBB), Pusan National University Hospital Brain Bank (PNUHBB), and Myongji Hospital Brain Bank (MJHBB). Clinical and pathological data were collected from these brain banks using standardized protocols. The prevalence rates of clinical and pathological diagnoses were analyzed in order to characterize the clinicopathological correlations.
Results:Between August 2016 and December 2023, 185 brain specimens were collected and pathologically evaluated (SNUHBB: 117; PNUHBB: 27; SMCBB: 34; MJHBB: 7). The age at consent was 70.8±12.6 years, and the age at autopsy was 71.7±12.4 years. The four-most-common clinical diagnoses were Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia (20.0%), idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (15.1%), unspecified dementia (11.9%), and cognitively unimpaired (CU) (11.4%).Most cases of unspecified dementia had a pathological diagnosis of central nervous system (CNS) vasculopathy (31.8%) or AD (31.8%). Remarkably, only 14.2% of CU cases had normal pathological findings. The three-most-common pathological diagnoses were AD (26.5%), CNS vasculopathy (14.1%), and Lewy body disease (13.5%).
Conclusions:These clinical and neuropathological findings provide a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying NDD in South Korea.
