CNS

Children’s Neurobiological Solutions Foundation

Is a national, non–profit organization dedicated to finding cures and therapies for the more than 14,000,000 children in the United States affected by genetic and acquired brain disorders. By pushing the frontiers of pediatric brain regeneration and repair research, CNS offers valid hope to millions of special needs children and their families.

The need for pediatric research

For the millions of American children suffering from brain disorders such as autism, cerebral palsy, Canavan’s, Tay Sachs, Down’s syndrome and other neurobiological disorders, each day brings a renewed drive to overcome the physical and emotional challenges that threaten their lives. Until now there has been little hope for effective cures and therapies for these debilitating, sometimes fatal, conditions. In spite of their high costs to families and society (the Federal Government alone spends$36 billion annually on special education), most pediatric brain researched is geared towards prevention, effectively condemning millions of children to a life of limited options.

But at last, there is hope for children living with neurobiological disorders. Genetic and stem cell research offers the possibility of brain repair and regeneration in the future, just as vaccination, anesthesia and antibiotics challenged the face of medical treatment in the past. Scientists believe that information gleaned from pediatric brain research will also help unlock the mysteries of adult-onset diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS. Therefore, at CNS we believe that all of us are stakeholders in pediatric neurobiological research.

What makes CNS different from other organizations?

CNS is dedicated to advancing research that crosses diseases and institutional boundaries fostering collaboration between scientists and promoting institutional synergies that will result in effective cures and treatments for all neurobiological impaired children. Many organizations are doing wonderful work on pediatric brain disorders. However, all of these organizations focus their activities on one neurological disease on condition (Tay-Sachs, autism, cerebral palsy, etc.) As a result, unlike pediatric cancer, research on pediatric neurological conditions is fragmented. Researchers at one institution can find it difficult to share knowledge and approaches with scientists doing similar work in other institutions. This fragmentation slows the communication of important scientific information and advances, leading to duplicated effort and preventing the kinds of synergies that lead to major breakthroughs. Moreover, the lack of unified research makes it difficult to help the growing number of children whose conditions doctors simply cannot diagnose. CNS takes a very different approach. Instead of focusing on a specific disease, CNS research targets the developing brain and how this complex organ can regenerate and repair itself. This focus encourages essential collaboration among researchers, and opens the way to knew knowledge and therapies for the broad spectrum of childhood neurological disorders.

What kind of research is CNS supporting?

In the 1950s, a group of parents whose children had polio approached researchers and offered fund studies that would lead to a lighter, more portable iron lung. The researchers told the astonished parents that they didn’t need to spend money on a lighter iron lung, as science was poised on the brink of a breakthrough that would eliminate the need for an iron lung forever! CNS funds research that will lead to similar breakthroughs in pediatric neurology. We support cutting-edge research by eminent medical researchers, fostering collaborative relationships across scientific disciplines.

The generous contributions of CNS supporters have made it possible to initiate and fund several multi-institutional projects at some of our most prestigious institutions. These include a first look at the potential of stem cells to heal childhood myelin disorders before they do permanent damage to the child (funded in collaboration with A–T Children’s Project); and a global assessment of how deficiencies in stem cells themselves might give rise to neurological disease. CNS is grateful to the researchers at prominent institutions, including Harvard Medical School, the University of California, Los Angeles, The University of Rochester, the Burnham Institute and the National Institutes and Aging for the discoveries that will ultimately make their way to the bedside.