American Brain Foundation

From the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) this episode of the Brain & Life Magazine podcast features guest Dr. Michael Okun, who sheds light on the increasing rates of Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in our communities, environmental factors that may contribute to the disease, and important considerations for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s. At the American Brain Foundation, we’re funding research to explore these connections—like Next Generation Research Grant recipient Dr. Brittany Krzyzanowski, currently studying the connection between air pollution and Parkinson’s risk, with the hope of reducing both environmental hazards and health disparities in affected communities. ?? Listen now: https://ow.ly/eE2H50VlybG

Visit the link below to claim your free registration for the Migraine World Summit, starting today, March 20, and running through March 27, 2025. What is the Migraine World Summit? It’s a free, virtual event where the leading doctors and experts on migraine give their time to ensure patients get the most up-to-date, helpful information on migraine and headache disorders. They have had over 2 million visitors from over 150 different countries. Each expert interview is 30 minutes long and goes in depth on one specific topic about migraine, suggested by MWS viewers. Register Now: https://ow.ly/99Sz50VluUM

American Brain Foundation board member Joanne L. Smikle, PhD, is a nationally recognized consultant who serves leading organizations in many industry sectors. On this episode of her internationally acclaimed podcast, SmikleSpeaks, she talks with fellow ABF board member Matt Picard about his own experience navigating the path to proper treatment for prolonged symptoms following concussion. Matt Picard is a private equity investor at Bolt Ventures, a family office focused on acquiring large global sports franchises and operating businesses around the sports and entertainment ecosystem. Prior to joining Bolt, Matt worked in Investment Banking at Jefferies, specializing in transactions across the Consumer, Gaming, and Entertainment sectors. Matt's journey with brain health began during his high school years at Choate Rosemary Hall, where he suffered two serious hits in lacrosse and football that marked the start of a challenging path to recovery and the development of prolonged post-concussive syndrome. He shares his first-hand experience in an often confusing, sometimes frustrating journey to get the right treatment for his brain health. ?? https://ow.ly/whLN50VgH8g

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Funding brain disease research contributes so much to medical knowledge over time. Since 1996, the American Brain Foundation has funded the work of more than 300 researchers. These scientists have gone on to author more than 28 thousand publications, which have been cited in nearly 914,000 other research papers! These investigations, experiments, and project findings all matter, adding relevant insight about how brain diseases progress and affect people. Even if an individual study doesn’t directly lead to a cure, it still provides documented evidence that can lead to a cure for one or more diseases or disorders. When researchers receive funding early in their careers, as many do through our Next Generation Research Grants, it enables them to go forward and continue working in their chosen fields, gaining the experience needed to acquire further brain research funding down the road. This early investment has proven to be powerful on a personal level for researchers building their careers, but it also benefits other scientific efforts worldwide, bringing us closer to our vision of a future without brain disease.

Researchers at Mass General Brigham in Boston (including past American Brain Foundation Next Generation Research Grant recipient Christopher D. Anderson, MD, MSc) have developed and further validated the McCance Brain Care Score (BCS), a simple metric for helping people track their own brain health and reduce their risk of age-related brain diseases such as stroke, late-life depression (LLD), and dementia. Read more about how this score can be used to reduce brain disease risk factors: https://ow.ly/6qi250VeZ8f

Last month, SciTechDaily reported that researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine have been able to identify a specific pathway (or “circuit”) in the brain linked to anxiety. If a drug could be found to activate this one specific circuit without affecting other brain cell receptors, it could be possible to treat anxiety without causing unwanted side effects.

In this episode of the Brain & Life Magazine podcast, co-host Dr. Katy Peters is joined by Kitty Norton, the director of the documentary Wine, Women & Dementia. Kitty shares her experience of caring for her mother as she lived with dementia and how, in her film, she uses her unique experiences to share how patients with dementia are living and how their caregivers are coping with caring for their loved ones. Dr. Peters is then joined by neurologist Dr. Victoria Pelak to further discuss dementia and the importance of caregivers. Listen now: https://ow.ly/mPHF50Vc1G8

Could AI be harnessed to improve cerebral palsy (CP) detection? The EU-funded Born To Get There Project, launched in 2020, has worked to develop and implement early intervention strategies to help young people with CP. If this common motor disability is detected early during a child’s infancy, there is greater opportunity to intervene and improve the development of motor skills and functional abilities during the foundational stage of neuroplasticity, leading to increased mobility and quality of life later on. To aid in detection, Italian researcher Dr. Andrea Guzzetta of the University of Pisa is advocating for global scaling of artificial intelligence models for CP diagnostics. The project is also focused on advancing research on neuroplasticity and engaging policymakers in Europe. After all, there is an economic case to be made for up-front investments in improving early detection and intervention, because this can reduce the financial burden on healthcare systems in the future. Read more: https://ow.ly/7Pft50Vc0QG

As this is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Month, we wanted to highlight one of our recent Next Generation Research Grant recipients, Simon Thebault, MBBCh, PhD. Dr. Thebault is a research fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, and he is exploring how Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) impacts the progression of MS. He is also investigating whether EBV activity correlates with MS relapses. Preliminary findings suggest increased EBV activity during relapses, indicating a possible role in exacerbating MS symptoms. EBV is one of the most common viruses in humans and one of the most significant viral risk factors for MS. Understanding the relationship between them could lead to the development of treatments to control EBV infection and reduce the frequency of MS relapses. Read more: https://ow.ly/Us2N50VbrpX