title: From Neurodegeneration to Brain Health: An Integrated Approach.
abstract: The term "brain health" integrates general health and well-being with cognitive fitness, in the context of an environment that includes the spectrum of positive and negative factors affecting the individual. Brain health incorporates the effects of neurodegeneration in an ecological sense and the effects of environment and health practices on brain function. It also provides a framework for understanding and maximizing cognitive function across the lifespan. Despite decades of research into the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, our understanding of how to treat them is relatively rudimentary. Unidimensional approaches, such as medication monotherapies, have generally produced negative results in treatment trials. New integrative paradigms that cut across the molecular and cellular level to the individual and societal level may provide new approaches to understand and treat these disorders. This report on proceedings of a multi-disciplinary conference held in Cleveland, Ohio, in October 2013 summarizes research progress in understanding neurodegenerative disorders in a brain health context. A new "brain health" paradigm is essential to finally understand neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and overcome the relative stand-still in therapeutics research that has characterized the last decade. The authors summarize progress in these emerging areas with the aim of producing new integrated scientific models for understanding brain health, potentially modifying disease course and advancing care for individuals and families affected by neurodegenerative conditions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Robert B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Frances M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Lissemore
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Appleby
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Neelum
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Aggarwal
authors.affiliation: Departments of Organizational Behavior, Cognitive Science, and Psychology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Boyatzis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Gemma
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Casadesus
authors.affiliation: Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, USA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.affiliation: Department of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jack
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Texas, San Antonio, TX, USA.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perry
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Jiri
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Safar
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sajatovic
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Witold K
authors.initials: WK
authors.lastname: Surewicz
authors.affiliation: Departments of Radiology, Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Yanming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Whitehouse
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.|Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lerner
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D059906:Neuroimaging
keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease; brain health; neurodegeneration; psychosocial approaches