Page 22 - 2022 Westchester County Economic Development Guide

One Million Strong Neurological Research
A Beacon of Hope and Healing
The Burke Neurological Institute is advancing major scientific breakthroughs to discover ways to help people with chronic neurologic disability to walk, talk, see and remember again.
Founded in 1978, Burke Neurological Institute (BNI) was established on the campus of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains to foster the development of new approaches to cognitive and motor rehabilitation. The Institute has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University and operates as an independent neuro-repair and research arm of Weill Cornell Medicine. BNI is at the forefront of research and development of novel therapeutics for a wide range of neurological injuries and disorders, including stroke, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, degenerative retinal diseases and neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and dementia.
We sat down with Rajiv R. Ratan, MD,
PhD, Winifred Masterson Burke Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, Associate Dean
(affiliate), Weill Cornell Medicine and CEO, Burke Neurological Institute, to discuss BNI’s progress on multiple fronts, including:
Advancing BNI’s important mission.
Our mission is to find novel cures for those who cannot walk, talk, see, remember, or experience lives free of
pain, and it has never been more on the minds of the public, academia, industry, or government than it is now. Disability from neurological diseases has reached epidemic proportions and is predicted to worsen as our population ages. Stroke is the leading cause of physical disability in the U.S., while Alzheimer’s disease leads the way in cognitive disability. One billion people globally and 1 in 7 families in the U.S. suffer from neurological disorders.
Combatting the threat of
Alzheimer’s Disease.
There is no greater neurological threat to our quality of life and financial security than Alzheimer’s disease. Gary Gibson’s laboratory at BNI has shown that a medication called benfotiamine, given daily for a year, can stem the decline in thinking and memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. Benfotiamine is a form of vitamin B1 that is safe and affordable. This exciting
preliminary study was done at Burke, but these promising findings need to be tested in a larger population of more demographically diverse patients. A $46 million-dollar grant request for a 50- site trial of benfotiamine in Alzheimer’s patients has been submitted by BNI to the NIH, and the score it received indicates it will likely be funded.
Advances in stroke treatment.
The leading cause of physical disability in the United States is stroke, yet treatments to get arms and legs moving again after stroke are limited both in number and effectiveness. To overcome this reality, BNI—in partnership with the University of Rochester, the Stratton VA, and the clinical research organization, Clintrex—is establishing the first clinical trials platform for chronic stroke in the U.S. This platform, called NeuroCares NY, which is funded in part via a $5 million dollar grant from Empire State
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
© Courtesy of Burke Neurological Institute
© Courtesy of Burke Neurological Institute