1. What is the Foundation's mission? The Child Brain Foundation supports scientific research for the benefit of infants and children afflicted by -or at risk of suffering from- any neurological disease. The Foundation is a non-profit institution that abides to a single steering principle: the advancement of children's well being through the facilitation of communication and collaboration among scientists, physicians, families and humanitarian supporters and advocates across the world. Our goal is to increase societal awareness while helping scientists understand how the developing brain works in order to find cures for neurological diseases. The Child Brain Foundation is particularly interested in neurometabolic and neurogenetic diseases, which constitute the leading cause of neurological disability, developmental delay, and death during infancy. Neurometabolic and neurogenetic diseases are an expanding group of disorders that account for an increasingly large group of patients that were previously thought to suffer from 'just' epilepsy, cerebral palsy, malformations, autism, delayed intellectual or language development or, simply, mental retardation, among other more disabling and lethal conditions. Gene identification continues to outpace clinical experience with patients afflicted by these disorders, and, even at academic institutions, diagnosis, treatment and counseling lag behind desirable standards. We believe that research is the answer to conquering these neurological diseases. The foundation's mission is built on three core pillars: Discovery, Communication and Leadership. 2. What are the three core pillars the mission is founded on and why are they important? The three core pillars we have identified as critical success factors are: Discovery, Communication and Leadership. Discovery. Discovery is important because investment in research is the only method to eradicate the root cause of neurological diseases. Treatment of symptoms is very important to make sick children more comfortable, but it is through research that we will be able to abolish these diseases. Research can span from early detection testing to permanent cures. Additionally, research on the developing nervous system advances our understanding of the brain, the mind and their diseases, beyond childhood, and across the entire human lifespan. Communication. Awareness increases interest and attracts more funds for the cause. The conferences are an important part of the mission because exchanges are key to the advancement of knowledge. Also, these conferences promote collaboration among scientists, at the same time they also help create awareness of critically underserved issues. Leadership. 3. What is a neurological disease? What is a pediatric neurological disease? A neurological disease is a disorder that affects the central nervous system (brain, brainstem, and cerebellum), the peripheral nervous system (peripheral nerves) or the autonomic nervous system. Disorders include but are not limited to: headaches, epilepsy or seizures, neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer and Parkinson disease, sleep disorders, multiple sclerosis, and brain tumors. Pediatric neurological diseases affect the developing brain and evolve as the child grows. Many of these diseases have a genetic origin (mutations in genes) and can be inherited genes that cause disorders such as epilepsy, cerebral palsy, mental retardation and developmental delay, autism, muscular dystrophy. These disorders are being identified and diagnosed at an ever-increasing pace. |