Allen Institute Brain Health accelerator to transform our understanding of brain disorders and develop new treatments

The global collaborative research initiative will initially target Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s disease, ALS, and Lewy body dementia.

Lisa Volenec was gardening in her yard near Phoenix when she began to notice changes in her movements. “My hand would shake, but I just thought it was the Arizona heat,” she said. The tremors progressed and gradually Volenec couldn’t swing her arm when she walked. She visited a neurologist and, at age 47, received the diagnosis: early onset Parkinson’s disease.

“I refused to accept it, but I also think in my heart of hearts I knew and accepted it. I could tell things felt different, but I couldn’t explain it,” she said. “I was absolutely scared because if this was true, I knew it was going to change my life.”

Volenec eventually founded a nonprofit called This is Parkinson’s, which provides support and resources to those suffering from the disease. But it took her a long time to get there; she tried to hide her symptoms and waited ten years before finally sharing the diagnosis with people outside her family.

“You’re only as sick as your secrets,” she said. “I carried around a lot of shame for Parkinson’s.”

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