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President's Column

Read monthly updates from AAN President Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN, to learn about Academy news and action on issues important to the neurology profession and patients.

October 2023

A Brighter Brain Future: New Vision Set for Brain Health by 2050

Neurologists are uniquely positioned to assume leadership in brain health, and your Academy continues to play a principal role in defining brain health and convening the many stakeholders involved in educating and engaging the public on the importance of maintaining a healthy brain. Now the AAN is sharing its vision for brain health by 2050.

This vision foresees a 2050 where:

  • Brain health research leads to scientific breakthroughs
  • Preventive neurology is a thriving cross-disciplinary field
  • Brain health practice guidelines are available for all ages
  • Brain health visits are a standard of care
  • Brain health education is widely available
  • A national brain health plan guides research, care, and public engagement

This vision is part of a new AAN position statement and platform on brain health published online in Neurology® on September 20, 2023, and shared with the media and the public through a press release just ahead of the AAN’s second Brain Health Summit, held on September 21 in Washington, DC. The summit brought together close to 150 leaders in brain health representing academia and research, professional medical and patient organizations, government agencies, biopharmaceutical and tech sector, health care administration, and advocacy groups.

Led by David A. Evans, MBA, and Natalia S. Rost, MD, MPH, FAAN, FAHA, of the AAN Committee on Public Engagement, the theme of the summit was “collaboration,” with the goal of fostering engaging and dynamic conversations and establishing connections among stakeholders to create synergies and take action on the top priorities in the field of brain health.

The AAN’s definition of brain health is a continuous state of attaining and maintaining the optimal neurologic function that best supports one’s physical, mental, and social well-being through every stage of life.

The position statement explains that brain health is crucial to optimizing both the function and well-being of every person at each stage of life and is key to both individual and social progress. The ambitious goals of the platform call for accelerating scientific discovery in brain health through cross-disciplinary collaboration, optimizing brain health through integration of preventive care practices, and enhancing public and patient engagement to advance public policy in this area.

We will work to expand the reach of the summit, encouraging increased public awareness of brain health and supporting efforts to study and develop better treatments to improve brain health.

We also took advantage of the energy and enthusiasm of this event by scheduling the AAN Legislative Summit the following day in Washington, with many AAN members who attended the summit also advocating with their legislators for improved access to brain health care.

The AAN has promoted brain health for decades through its advocacy and public outreach, which includes the AAN’s free patient and caregiver magazines, Brain & Life® and Brain & Life® en Espanol, that collectively reach over 1.5M readers, BrainandLife.org, the Brain & Life book series, and the Brain & Life podcast. We are proud to stand united with a coalition of multidisciplinary stakeholders as we pursue a plan to improve brain health across each stage of life.

I want to thank all of those involved—and to call on all of you to join in this work to accomplish our ultimate goal of reducing the burden of neurologic disorders and developing a public health response for achieving optimal brain health for everyone.

Carlayne E. Jackson, MD, FAAN
President, AAN
cjackson@aan.com
@CarlayneJackson on Twitter