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| 1. What does CNS do? |
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CNS helps the more than 14 million children and their families who live each day with complex and poorly understood brain injuries. Some of the injuries have genetic causes. Others are due to physical injury or disease. For far too many the cause is simply unknown.
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To help those children and families, CNS |
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Fosters trailblazing new forms of collaboration among scientists |
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Builds working partnerships between parents and scientists that can produce new treatments and cures as quickly as possible |
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Provides information to families and healthcare providers so they can make the best possible decisions for children living with neurological challenges | |
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| 2. What makes CNS different from other organizations? |
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In the 1950s, a group of parents of children with polio approached researchers and offered to fund studies that would lead to a lighter, more portable iron lung. The researchers told them science was on the brink of a breakthrough that would eliminate the need for an iron lung forever. CNS is funding research that will lead to a similar kind of breakthrough in research on brain disorders in children making brain repair and regeneration possible.
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Many organizations are doing critically important work on diseases or conditions that damage the brain. While these organizations focus their activities on one neurological disease or condition, e.g. Parkinson’s, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, etc. CNS takes a very different approach that both compliments and benefits the work of these organizations.
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Instead of focusing on a specific brain-related childhood disease, CNS’ research targets the developing brain, the incredibly complex organ where the damage occurs. In particular, CNS’ unique research focus is on one of the newest and most promising areas of scientific investigation: how the developing brain can regenerate and repair itself.
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| 3. Why don’t you just join up with other organizations? |
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The research we fund and the work we do is unique. Because childhood diseases are so devastating, organizations focused on a specific disease have little choice but to devote much of their resources to stopping that disease now and finding ways to repair the damage later. CNS complements the work of other organizations by focusing on that next step now. CNS funds research on how the developing brain can regenerate and repair itself.
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At the same time, CNS fosters a “team approach”, working closely with other organizations to promote the kind of information exchange and synergy that is critical to making rapid progress.
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| 4. What kind of research is CNS supporting? |
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| 5. Why does CNS have to fund this kind of research? Doesn’t the government fund medical research? |
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Unfortunately, most government dollars for brain research go to study diseases of the adult brain. Very little government funded research goes to understand the unique issues of a child’s brain structure, developmental patterns and related diseases.
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CNS-funded research will help fill that gap. Moreover, CNS plans to mount a public policy campaign to encourage Congress to fund more research on how the brain can regenerate and repair itself.
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| 6. Are you just focused on stem cell research? |
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CNS funds stem cell research, but that is only part of our research program. Research on how the brain can regenerate and repair itself investigates a range of materials that naturally occur in the body, such as genes and proteins (antibodies, growth factors, hormones); cells and tissues; as well as stem cells.
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| 7. Why is stem cell research important? |
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According to the nation’s leading scientists, stem cells can lead to the production of new healthy brain cells. These could be used to replace or repair damaged cells that cause some of most serious pediatric brain disorders.
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| 8. What about the thousands of children that remain undiagnosed? |
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Research on brain disorders can be conducted without having a diagnosis.
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In almost every major advance in medical knowledge, a breakthrough occurs before scientists can understand what causes a disease and how it develops.
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| 9. Why are you focusing your efforts on trying to "cure" our children, instead of encouraging society to accept them as they are? |
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CNS supported research is the best way to help improve medical care for children with brain disorders. Without such research, the care and treatment of our children will continue to lag behind.
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The efforts of the disability community to promote accessibility and acceptability must continue. At the same time, we must hasten the day when research breakthroughs can dramatically improve the quality of life for children with brain disorders.
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| 10. Will CNS’ research produce cures in my child’s lifetime? |
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It is impossible to predict the course of research, however CNS is moving as fast as its finances and the science with allow. Since the founders of CNS and many of its supporters have children in need of this research and the resulting treatments, we have an urgent need to make progress in the shortest.
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| 11. What if I have ethical objections to some of the research you are doing? |
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Donors can direct their contributions to support specific projects aligned with their needs and interests.
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