Recommendations regarding handling of the necropsy in Rett syndrome.

In order to maximize biochemical, neurochemical, molecular, and pathologic information from patients with Rett syndrome, a uniform procedure has been developed for the conduct of the postmortem examination. Tissue should be prepared for freezing, for electron microscopy studies, and for standard histologic examination. For the purposes of uniformity, three central repositories for necropsy materials have been established and are available at all times. In the event of the death of a patient with Rett syndrome, parents who consent to necropsy should request that materials be handled according to the protocol and transported under appropriate conditions to the central repository. The National Neurological Research Bank (Los Angeles), the Brain Tissue Bank (Belmont, Mass), and the Department of Neuropathology at Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore) have agreed to serve as repositories for tissues. A committee of the International Rett Syndrome Association medical advisory panel will monitor this process in cooperation with the directors of the respective tissue banks.