The National Brain Appeal

Happy New Year! Start 2025 with an epic challenge 🌟 Explore stunning coastlines and wonderful countryside trails as part of #TeamBrainAppeal in this year's Ultra Challenge series. Choose from 18 inspiring events - perfect for individuals, friends, or family. Whether you walk, jog, run, or mix it up, these challenges are designed for everyone, no matter your fitness level. It’s your chance to get in shape, experience breathtaking sights across the UK, and create unforgettable memories. As an official partner, enjoy a 25% discount on the ‘Full Sponsorship’ registration fee when you sign up to support us. Plus, you'll receive first-class support and exclusive perks from The National Brain Appeal. Find out more and make 2025 a year to remember: https://lnkd.in/eCQGFpCQ

A huge thank you to Jo and Grant Berry for hosting an incredible fundraiser in aid of The National Brain Appeal, raising an amazing £190,000! 🎉 Jo is featured in tomorrow's final episode of the BBC Radio 4 series Dementia: Unexpected Stories of the Mind. This powerful 5-part series highlights the experiences of people living with rare dementias, including members of Rare Dementia Support (RDS). It’s also available to listen to online. Grant and Jo have been members and supporters of RDS since Jo’s diagnosis of semantic dementia, also known as primary progressive aphasia (PPA) in 2021. Their fundraising event was hosted by comedian, actor and DJ Justin Moorhouse. It featured performances by electric string ensemble String Infusion, DJ Jorge and singer Heather Small, lead vocalist of M People. Half of the £190,000 raised will go towards the RDS service, while the other half will go towards our £8m campaign to create the world's first Rare Dementia Support Centre. Read more about Jo and Grant’s inspiring fundraising event at https://lnkd.in/eg9tNmcd Photo credit: Josephine Berry

From all of us at The National Brain Appeal, we wish you a very Merry Christmas! To our wonderful supporters, your generosity has been the greatest gift this year. Your kindness helps us transform the lives of millions of people affected by neurological and neuromuscular conditions. This year's festive greeting features Liam Wales' stunning Christmas card design, capturing the Christmas spirit at The National Hospital. Thank you for being part of our journey. Wishing you a peaceful, joyful, and hope-filled festive season!

The National Brain Appeal welcomes the news that University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) has recruited the first patient to a global trial of ALN-HTT02, an investigational medication for adults with Huntington’s Disease (HD). Led by Professor Sarah Tabrizi, Director of the Huntington’s Disease Centre at the UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, and consultant at UCLH, the study will explore whether the medication is safe, its effects in the body, and whether it can lower huntingtin (HTT) protein levels in the brain. A faulty version of the HTT gene causes HD by damaging nerve cells in the brain. Professor Sarah Tabrizi said: “I am so pleased we have begun this important and innovative trial, which we hope will bring us closer to an effective treatment for HD and make a meaningful difference for patients and families affected by this devastating condition. I’m looking forward to the smooth running of the study and, hopefully, seeing ALN-HTT02 progress to further clinical development”. HD is an inherited brain condition that progressively reduces a person's ability to walk, talk, think and communicate. There are around 7,000 people living with HD in the UK. However, there is no cure and its progress cannot be reversed or slowed down. Read more about this important milestone: https://lnkd.in/eTAjNyMw

Thank you to the Danny Sullivan Group for spreading Christmas cheer! 🎄 They generously donated a Christmas hamper to The National Brain Appeal, which we’ve shared with the therapy team at The National Hospital. This incredible team provided intensive rehabilitation to Danny O'Sullivan after his life-threatening brain haemorrhage in 2017. Danny underwent four operations, spent five months in hospital, and had to re-learn how to walk and talk. Thanks to the care of many teams at the hospital and his determination, he made a full recovery. Since then, Danny, his family, and the company he founded have been amazing supporters of The National Brain Appeal and The National Hospital. We’re so grateful for their continued generosity!

What an incredible time we had at Santa in the City this year! Thousands of Santas took over the streets to bring some festive cheer to the City of London and raise over £150,000 for more than 50 different charities. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took part and to our incredible event partners City of London Corporation, Paternoster Square Estate, Bywaters, Popchoir, SPEAKER BOX STREET PARTY, our lead charity partner Sarcoma UK, and our accessibility partner The National Brain Appeal. Your participation, support and collaboration helped make this event truly special 🤩 We hope you'll all join us again in 2025 to celebrate 10 years of Santa in the City! 🎅🏼🎅🏼🎅🏼 #SantaInTheCity

I’ve been in the charity world for most of my working life, and while the end of the year is always invariably unbelievably busy with budgeting, governance rounds and of course Christmas; I always feel so fortunate see how the festive season can bring out the best in people, with their generosity, support and care. We’ve been pretty busy at The National Brain Appeal with a host of seasonal activities, which once again, in what has been a challenging year for me personally, makes me pause and be thankful that I work in a such a brilliant sector. I’m so grateful to all the wonderful people who take the time to support their special charity amongst all the Christmas mayhem, particularly if that happens to the The National Brain Appeal.

We're delighted to have received planning permission and listed building consent for the world's first Rare Dementia Support Centre (RDSC) in Bloomsbury's Woburn Square. The new centre will be a global exemplar of rare dementia care, designed with the unique needs of patients, carers, and loved ones in mind. At the heart of the centre is the kitchen table, a place to connect, reflect, and share experiences. The calm and welcoming spaces are full of light and warmth, connected to an outside space and providing opportunities for a mix of interactions. Rare Dementia Support led by the UCL Dementia Research Centre is funded by The National Brain Appeal. We're extremely proud to be participating in the future of dementia care and research. Find out more about the project here: https://lnkd.in/er5xsc4y

✨ Thank you to everyone who took part in the Santa in the City Fun Run! 🎅 Our amazing #TeamBrainAppeal runners have raised over £2,000 to help transform life for the millions of people affected by neurological and neuromuscular conditions. As the 2024 Accessibility Partner for this fantastic event, we were proud to see runners of all abilities coming together for a joyful and inclusive festive run through the heart of London. Liz, one of our runners, said it best: “We had a great time. It’s such a wonderful event and so brilliant it’s so accessible.” Your generosity and festive spirit made this event truly special - thank you for your incredible support!

An unforgettable evening of carols and cheer 🎶✨ A heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us at The National Brain Appeal's Christmas Carol Concert! Our wonderful host Nick Robinson set the tone for a magical night, featuring readings from Stephen Mangan, Indira Varma, Tamsin Greig, and Elspeth Pierce. The atmosphere was lifted even higher by breathtaking musical performances from Sara Trickey, Richard Sisson, Nick Losseff, Stefanija Nikolich, Zoe Shelvin, Katy Bircher, and the Julius Singers. Claire Wood Hill, chief executive of The National Brain Appeal, said: “It was such a festive and uplifting evening, hosted with great warmth and professionalism by Nick Robinson. On behalf of The National Brain Appeal, I am so grateful to all of our wonderful readers and musicians and to all of our supporters who came along and got into the Christmas spirit with us." Your generosity and presence helped fill the Holy Sepulchre with joy - and the proceeds will have a lasting impact, supporting our mission to transform life for the millions of people affected by neurological and neuromuscular conditions. 📖 Read more about this magical evening in our latest news story here: https://lnkd.in/g_G7cBqD Photo credit Marie Mangan