Future of brain disorders and treatment being discussed at Roanoke conference

ROANOKE (WSLS 10) -  Some of the world's best brain researchers are in Roanoke sharing information for a first-of-its-kind conference called the Virginia-Nordic Precision Neuroscience Conference.

People who have many kinds of brain disorders will need some sort of therapy or treatment. At the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, they say based on our genetic information, our own DNA and things that happen in our lives, we are very individualized when it comes to treatment.

Scientists, physicians, leaders from the National Institutes of Health and leaders from the pharmaceutical industry are in Roanoke to discuss the future of target healthcare, disease prevention and disease treatment in a very personalized way. The Society for Neuroscience reports more than 1,000 brain diseases and disorders cause hardship for almost a billion families worldwide, in addition to many billions of dollars in medical expenses and lost productivity.

"What works for you may not work for me. So we're trying to bring the leading information that takes into account our genetics, our life experiences and our history and custom tailor that based on the science so each person could potentially in the future have their own very specific treatment for them that would work best for them," said Michael Friedlander, Virginia Tech VP for health sciences and technology. "We are very excited about this. It is one of the major focus areas for Virginia Tech going forward into the future and it's an  opportunity for us to be part of the discussion nationwide and worldwide about where we're going in brain health and disease research."

People from around Virginia and researchers from around the world are here for the three-day conference. The University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University also sent representatives.


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