Brain Fables: The Hidden History of Neurodegenerative Diseases and a Blueprint to Conquer Them

Description

An estimated 80 million people live with a neurodegenerative disease. That number is expected to increase rapidly as populations age, lifespans increase, and exposure to toxins rises. Despite decades of research and billions in funding, there are no medications that can slow, much less stop, the progress of these diseases. This is because diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's do not exist in biology. Yet, hundreds of clinical trials around the world are examining the potential of single therapies in thousands of people sharing one of these labels. Compounding the problem, these therapies were developed on evidence from models that do not come close to capturing the complexity of these diseases in the affected humans. These practices must end. Brain Fables is a call to refocus on understanding living and aging to create the personalized treatments each affected individual desperately needs.

Alberto Espay is Professor of Neurology and Endowed Chair of the University of Cincinnati James J. and Joan A. Gardner Family Center for Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders. He has published extensively on Parkinson's disease and leads the first phenotype-agnostic biomarker development program for patients with neurodegenerative diseases (CCBP) designed to deploy bioassays aiming at matching available therapies with those most likely to benefit, regardless of their clinical diagnosis. Benjamin Stecher was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease aged 29 and has since become actively involved in Parkinson's Disease research and advocacy. He is the founder of Tomorrow Edition, where he has interviewed close to 80 experts in Parkinson's disease. He sits on several patient advisory boards and speaks and consults regularly at academic labs, as well as biotech and pharmaceutical companies, working to bring better therapies for people diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

'This book attempts to incorporate overarching scientific themes with a detailed overview of pathophysiology and clinical features of Parkinson's disease. The chapters examine clinical features, subtypes and progression of the disease, ways of looking at the disease scientifically, a comparison to oncology, and a review of disease modifying treatments versus symptomatic treatment. The diagrams and tables are outstanding and the production values are excellent. The book, however, is limited by the attempt to tackle big concepts for a more lay public with very technical writing, an unimaginative look at theory and facts, and the distinctly different styles between the two authors.' Rohit Das, Doody's Book Review Service