Neurological Institute Case for Support

“A lot of times he looked at me with terrified eyes and said, ‘Mommy, Mommy.’ And I knew he was going to have a seizure. Every day for the last year, Eviatar had seizures.”

Adi Arden speaking about her 4-year-old son, an epilepsy patient.

Disrupting and Curing

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Neurological Diseases

in Our Lifetimes

Cleveland Clinic is transforming the landscape of neurological care today, for the patients of tomorrow.

One in every six people in the world has a neurological disease.

Although their symptoms differ, most share a sense of hopelessness. Their loved ones feel helpless to relieve their suffering. So, too often, do their doctors. The brain is the body’s ultimate organ, the very essence of our being. Yet we don’t know why some brains get sick and others stay healthy. Answering this question is the key to preventing, treating and curing neurological diseases. With advanced therapies, many developed at Cleveland Clinic, we can help slow the progression of these disorders. But we cannot cure people of most brain diseases. This drives some patients to seek out drugs and other treatments that don’t work or come with worrisome side effects. We know that you share our passion to change the course of human health by curing brain diseases in our lifetimes.

At Cleveland Clinic, with your help, discovery will drive us forward — together.

Neurological diseases touch all of us.

Thanks to advancements in health care, more and more people are living to 80 and well beyond. But this longevity comes with a cost: the risk of developing a neurodegenerative disease increases dramatically with age. With so many growing older, an unprecedented wave of neurological disease cases looms on the horizon. In two decades, if we have no cure for Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s, these illnesses alone will end the lives of more people than breast, lung, kidney and colon cancers combined. Further, as patient volumes rise, the most vulnerable among us are in danger of falling through gaps in care. Your partnership with Cleveland Clinic couldn’t come at a more crucial time.

A Silver Tsunami is Swelling

Every 40 seconds

someone in the United States has a stroke.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

At Cleveland Clinic, we are creating the Neurological Institute of the future that the world so desperately needs.

In the fall of 1962, President Kennedy took the podium at Rice University in Houston to persuade Americans that they shouldn’t wait to explore the lunar surface. His vision led to what became our country’s moonshot. Six decades later we feel the same urgency to achieve something once thought impossible: to gain a much more comprehensive understanding of the human brain. Specialists in our Neurological Institute treat the most complex cases in the world. They are visionaries, the first to develop new therapies and surgical techniques to improve the lives of people with brain diseases:

This is our moonshot.

Our first-in-the-world application of deep brain stimulation therapy to stroke patients has restored functionality to a degree no one thought possible.

We were first to use laser ablation surgery to attack “inoperable” brain cancers.

We established the first program in the U.S. for epilepsy patients using a minimally invasive procedure known as SEEG — stereoelectroencephalography — to pinpoint the precise location of seizure sites deep in the brain.

Our mobile stroke unit allows for some of the most efficient delivery times for clot-busting drug therapy, including recent treatment of a patient in just eight minutes.

We developed online tools patients can use to test for neurological issues anytime, anywhere.

Our Neurological Institute provides comprehensive care to 225,000 patients a year – a number likely to rise to 300,000 by 2025. Such high volume allows us to collect massive amounts of patient data, and in turn to chart the path of each patient’s disease trajectory. When analyzed using artificial intelligence, the patterns that emerge help us create precision diagnoses and treatments tailored to each patient. Yet with the oncoming wave of brain diseases, it is imperative that we make the same inroads in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the fastest-growing neurological diseases, as well as crack the code of depression that often accompanies these illnesses.

Imad Najm, MD, Joseph H. and Ellen B. Thomas Endowed Chair in Epilepsy Director of the Epilepsy Center at Cleveland Clinic Vice Chair of Strategy and Development for Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute

“Curing brain diseases in our lifetimes is our moonshot; our new Neurological Institute is the vehicle that will take us there.”

To prevent and cure neurological diseases, the world will soon have a new center for breakthrough therapies, for hope.

Philanthropy is crucial for seeding and accelerating research discoveries capable of transforming brain health.

Robert Bermel, MD, Medical Director of Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis

“We’re not just looking under the microscope and publishing papers. We’re looking at you and asking how to make your life and the lives of those you know and love better — now and in the future.”

Go inside the world's smartest building

Arman Askari, MD, a cardiologist diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at age 38.

“‘You have young-onset Parkinson’s disease.’ Those words took my breath away. I thought, How long will I be able to work and not tell anyone? What will the kids think of me? How will I support the family?”

Laura Russo, 38, on grappling with feelings of depression and anxiety a decade after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“My neurologist noticed that I was tearful at my appointments. I was dealing with a lot, working full time while trying to be a good mother, wife and patient.”

Jean Georges on the progression of Alzheimer’s in her husband, Leonard.

I lost my best friend, my love, my comrade, my business companion — I lost it all. That’s the most difficult part.”

This is the turning point

Andre Machado, MD, PhD Charles and Christine Carroll Family Endowed Chair in Functional Neurosurgery Chair, Cleveland Clinic's Neurological Insitute

“Either we invest in research, treatments and cures today or we build more nursing homes tomorrow.”

We are at the leading edge in the fight against neurological disease.

Join us there

Join Us There

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Americans are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease each year

60,000

Source: Parkinson’s Foundation

people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease

Nearly 1 million

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

seniors dies with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia

1 in 3

Support from generous donors play a crucial role in our research and development efforts to better understand the causes, mechanisms, and potential treatments for neurological diseases.

The world is looking to us to change the course of human health by disrupting and curing neurological diseases. Today. In our own lifetimes. We invite you to join us, and together we'll make history.

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The Neurological Institute that Hope Built

We are not just building a building. We are offering hope to patients and their families dealing with the consequences of neurological disease. Hope for discoveries, for treatments, for cures.

Take a tour of our new neurological institute.

Our New Neurological Institute By the Numbers

Today, neurological services are offered in several locations on our main campus, some housed in aging facilities that are part of the original buildings of Cleveland Clinic, founded more than 100 years ago. To meet the increasing demand for care, to recruit and train top talent and to support technological advances in the field, we will create the world’s smartest building — the first neurological care center purpose-built for the digitization of neurological data and distance health. We will bring the best minds in neuroscience together under one roof to spur collaboration and creativity and to centralize care for patients for maximum convenience. “What we want to cause is a creative friction between these experts,” says Andre Machado, MD, PhD, Chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute. “Because it is this friction that sparks the new interesting ideas.” One of them? Coming up with a procedure to treat brain disease that is as routine as placing a stent in a blocked artery. Spanning 1 million square feet, this building of hope and inspiration will be filled with light and connections to nature, its every detail intended to be functional, long-lasting and spiritually uplifting. The design is a collaboration between celebrated architects and institute leaders who have an intimate understanding of the unique needs of their patients. “Imagine walking the campus of the Cleveland Clinic as an able-bodied person — it’s a workout,” says Dr. Machado. “Now imagine doing it wheelchair-bound or on a walker. It’s not what Cleveland Clinic is about. Our new building will allow the unified care that puts the patient at the center of everything — exactly where they should be.” Work on the $1 billion capital project is slated to begin in 2022. Doors are expected to open in 2026.

Inside the World’s Smartest Building

Patients flipping through outdated magazines in cramped cubbies are but a distant memory in our Waiting Room of the Future. This revolutionary space will measure a patient’s movement — her gait and walking speed — through technology-enabled data capture from the moment she arrives. Each footprint will provide information about her condition to her care team. Using an iPad, she will complete a series of cognitive and motor tests to assess her neurological function. When she arrives at her doctor’s office, her exam will be mostly done, leaving her more time to discuss test results and create an individualized treatment plan with her physician.

cost to build

$1 billion

square feet

1 million

inpatient rooms

210

operating rooms

intensive care unit beds

exam rooms

120

stories

The Waiting Room of the Future

The debilitating symptoms of many neurological diseases make access to healthcare especially difficult. For example, the risk of seizures can limit the ability of people with epilepsy to travel safely to outpatient clinic appointments. We have removed those barriers by harnessing distance health technologies such as virtual visits and at-home patient management tools pioneered at the Neurological Institute. These include a smartphone app that replicates a few key aspects of a physical neurological exam; a short online test that goes beyond standard dementia screening; and wearable devices like smart watches to detect signs of cognitive impairment.

Telemedicine Unbound

Cold, impersonal exam rooms have no place in our leading-edge home for neurological care. Patients and their loved ones will enter a warm, welcoming physician’s study with wide doorways and flexible seating designed to accommodate wheelchairs or stretchers and multiple family members. Patients won’t sit on the hard surface of an exam table but on a couch where they can speak to their doctors eye to eye. Large screens embedded into walls will allow physicians to display patient data and imaging to help patients better understand their conditions and treatment options and “beam” family members, translators and subspecialists into office visits using videoconferencing technology.

Patient-focused Exam Rooms

At Cleveland Clinic, we aim to provide the most advanced care for today’s patients while investigating new therapies to improve treatment for the patients of tomorrow. As we pursue this mission, we must keep our patients safe and provide a healing environment for body, mind and spirit. Open spaces filled with natural light will allow ease of movement for those using walkers or wheelchairs. Hallways will be more than just paths; they’ll double as rehabilitation areas. Rails throughout the building will assist patients during physical therapy and extend into patient rooms and bathrooms. Our goal is to become the first “no-falls” hospital in the country.

Safety First

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The world is looking to us to change the course of human health by disrupting and curing neurological diseases. Today. In our own lifetimes. We invite you to join us, and together we'll make history.

Dream big with us

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Cleveland Clinic is at the forefront of brain research, treatment and technology.

Help our Neurological Institute open new frontiers in our understanding of the brain

In our first-of-its-kind Brain Study, we will study up to 200,000 people over 20 years.

Can you pedal your way to brain health? Cleveland Clinic researchers are investigating the effect of long-term, high-intensity aerobic exercise on Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, the two most common — and fastest-growing — neurodegenerative diseases in the world. While exercise appears to have a powerful effect on cognition, the challenge is to determine how much activity is enough to make a difference.

An Important Role for Philanthropy

By the time we can tell something is wrong with a brain, it’s often too late. Alzheimer’s disease — the most common form of dementia — is thought to begin 20 years or more before people experience noticeable symptoms such as memory loss and language problems. It is estimated that 50% to 70% of the dopamine-producing cells in the brain have already died by the time a person is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The opportunity to cure neurodegeneration is before it reveals itself — or in its very early stages. What if we could prevent neurological diseases from ever starting? That’s the promise of the Cleveland Clinic Brain Study: to discover why brain diseases develop in some brains and not in others; to predict who is going to develop a neurological disease before its symptoms become obvious; and to identify treatments to prevent or stop the disease. Led by Andre Machado, MD, PhD, and Imad Najm, MD, of Cleveland Clinic’s Neurological Institute, our researchers will follow thousands of healthy volunteers — people without neurological diseases — in the largest long-term investigation of brain disease ever undertaken. Volunteers will be tested yearly, including neurological exams, blood and stool tests, cognitive tests and sleep studies. Click to hear from some of these participants.

The Cycle Trials

A gift of $2 million to create an endowed chair position enables our specialists to pursue big ideas — and to recruit, teach, train and mentor the next generation of exceptional medical sleuths.

Answers will be found

RESEARCH INNOVATIONS

Philanthropy helps kick-start vital research. Our physician-scientists use promising results, made possible by seed money from donors, to win millions in federal grants for large-scale studies that lead to medical breakthroughs.

Physician-scientists at Cleveland Clinic were among the first to use deep brain stimulation (DBS) to control symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Our neurosurgeons were first to use DBS to help stroke patients regain use of their hands and arms. Now, our researchers want to leverage DBS to restore motor and cognitive skills for the millions every year who sustain a traumatic brain injury.

The Traumatic Brain Injury Research Program

RESEARCH INNOVATIONS

No two patients' brains are alike, nor are the ways brains become sick or injured. At our Neurological Institute, philanthropy enables us to tailor our therapies and surgical techniques to each patient.

Determining the best way to seal off a weakened, bulging blood vessel deep in the brain is challenging. Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeons were among the first to use a highly detailed 3D-printed model of a patient’s brain aneurysm, which allowed them to plan their repair strategy and to help the patient understand what was ahead.

3D Printing Provides Precision Care

Treatment INNOVATIONS

Disease centers in our new Neurological Institute are in need of investment, including our Cerebrovascular Center, where we treat severe cases of stroke and brain aneurysm. Your name could be on one of them.

Up to half of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) report dealing with depression, and researchers at Cleveland Clinic’s Mellen Center for Multiple Sclerosis noted severely depressed patients were more likely to develop fresh brain lesions and clock slower walking and thought processing speeds. One of the few MS centers with psychologists on staff, the Mellen offers on-site individual, group and couples therapy.

The Mellen Center's Prescription for Joy

Treatment INNOVATIONS

Philanthropy is crucial to the development of mobile applications that can substantially impact neurological health. Your investment will help us reach far more people than we can by seeing patients in our clinics.

Sleep is foundational to wellness. With Cleveland Clinic's free Sleep app, people can assess their risk for four common sleep disorders and find a nearby accredited sleep center. Chronic sleep deficiency can lead to neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer’s and other dementias. The app has the potential to spur millions living with an undiagnosed sleep disorder to seek treatment.

Sleep by Cleveland Clinic

technological INNOVATIONS

It is philanthropy that helps the best ideas take root and grow. Our physician-scientists have the ingenuity to develop treatments to improve the lives of patients everywhere. What they need is you.

For two out of five people with Parkinson's disease, everyday movements and tasks can lead to motion sickness or becoming frozen in place, leaving them unable to move forward. Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Jay Alberts and his team created an immersive virtual environment to replicate negotiating tight spaces and multitasking. Insights from this groundbreaking work will facilitate more precise, patient-specific treatments.

Virtual Reality Grocery Store

technological INNOVATIONS

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Make a Gift

The world is looking to us to change the course of human health by disrupting and curing neurological diseases. Today. In our own lifetimes. We invite you to join us, and together we'll make history.

Dream big with us

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