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For more information, contact Marie Mangan at marie.mangan@nhs.net.
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The National Brain Appeal aims to transform the lives of the millions of people affected by neurological and neuromuscular conditions. It helps to drive advancement by funding pioneering research, innovative treatments and world-class facilities – over and above what the NHS can provide.
The charity raises money for The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Institute of Neurology in Queen Square, London − the UK’s leading centre of excellence for treating diseases of the brain, spine and the nervous system − such as brain tumours, epilepsy, stroke, dementias, MS, Parkinson’s disease and motor neurone disease.
The hospital and institute are ranked top in the UK and third worldwide for neurology and neurosurgery in the annual Newsweek release of the best specialist hospitals in the world.
Since the charity was launched in 1984, it has raised more than £56m for ground-breaking projects. It plans to deliver a further £100m of investment by 2032 to enable the advances that the neurological community so desperately needs.
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and support the 1 in 6 of us with a neurological condition
The first brain cancer patient to received immunotherapy prior to standard treatment as part of pioneering trial is doing well
The National Brain Appeal has been driving innovation and challenging the status quo of brain cancer treatment for more than a decade. Following the IPI-GLIO immunotherapy clinical trial that the charity funded, consultant medical oncologist, Dr Paul Mulholland,...
Iceland executive chairman and colleagues raise more than £1.1m for the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre
The National Brain Appeal’s fundraising campaign to enable the creation of the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre has received an incredible boost from Iceland. A coordinated effort by Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation (IFCF) and Iceland Foods stores...
People with aphasia make significant improvements, thanks to Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programme
The Queen Square Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programme (ICAP) that The National Brain Appeal funded has seen patients make significant progress. The results of the two-year programme that took place at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen...
Celebrities, musicians and clinicians entertain National Brain Appeal supporters at the charity’s annual Carol Concert
Around 300 guests and performers attended the beautiful Holy Sepulchre church in Holborn Viaduct for The National Brain Appeal’s annual Christmas Concert on Thursday 7 December. Guests were entertained by readings by actors Arabella Weir, Sophie Thompson and Stephen...
Artist and National Hospital patient reunites with his medical team whom he credits with him becoming an artist
Artist and National Hospital patient, Christopher Samuel, age 44, was reunited with his medical team at The National Brain Appeal’s 10th anniversary A Letter in Mind exhibition. The reunion was broadcast on BBC London TV News on 23 October. Christopher, who donated an...
Nila Rubia supports charity art exhibition fundraising for the hospital where she had brain tumour surgery
Artisan clothes designer, Nila Rubia, age 43 from Hove, has taken part in The National Brain Appeal’s 10th anniversary A Letter in Mind exhibition. She created an artwork on an envelope that was among more than 700 available to buy for £85, raising money for the...
Buy original art by Sir Grayson Perry, Dame Zandra Rhodes, Christopher Nolan CBE, Axel Scheffler and many other leading artists and celebrities for just £85 at the 10th anniversary A Letter in Mind exhibition
This year marks ten years of The National Brain Appeal’s art fundraiser, A Letter in Mind, where hundreds of artists have created an original piece of art on an envelope, responding to the theme ‘Changing Perspectives’. More than 740 artworks will be exhibited at...
Long-standing friends and artists, Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe, talk about taking part in The National Brain Appeal’s 10th anniversary A Letter in Mind
Ishbel Myerscough and Chantal Joffe, have made The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter in Mind exhibition a regular event in their calendars. They have been close friends since properly meeting at Glasgow School of Art in the late 1980s, but their paths crossed at a...
The National Brain Appeal welcomes NICE announcement that stroke patients are offered additional rehabilitation but says real issue is total dose of therapy
The National Brain Appeal welcomes today’s announcement from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) that stroke patients should be offered “needs-based rehabilitation for at least 3 hours a day on at least 5 days of the week covering a range of...
Statement in response to World Rugby introducing smart mouthguard technology for brain injuries
“The National Brain Appeal welcomes the decision by professional rugby union governing body, World Rugby, to increase monitoring for potential brain injuries in players during games. The introduction of mouthguards fitted with smart technology to alert pitch-side...
Rosie Millard OBE is set to run the Royal Parks half marathon for The National Brain Appeal, five years on from brain tumour surgery at The National Hospital
Journalist and National Brain Appeal supporter, Rosie Millard OBE, will be running the Royal Parks half marathon on Sunday 8 October to raise money for the charity dedicated to raising funds for The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, where she had...
Consultant neurologist Nick Losseff releases jazz album to raise funds for The National Brain Appeal and support vital work at Queen Square
The Long Ride Home Tonight, written and composed by Dr Nick Losseff and performed by his band, Life is Elsewhere, was released in July 2023. All money raised through sales of the album will be donated to The National Brain Appeal, which raises funds to advance...
Avril & Michael Staunton finish the Camino Francés raising £7,000+ for The National Brain Appeal’s campaign to fund the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre
Avril and husband Michael Staunton surmounted many physical and emotional hurdles to complete the ancient, 780km pilgrimage route on 3 June, having set out from their home in Bridgwater, Somerset, on 23 April. Avril was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA)...
Claire Wood Hill announced as new CEO of The National Brain Appeal
The National Brain Appeal is pleased to announce the appointment of Claire Wood Hill as the charity’s new Chief Executive Officer. Claire will replace Theresa Dauncey, who in April 2023, announced her intention to step down. Claire brings an extensive background of...
Statement in response to journalist and presenter Fiona Phillips diagnosis of young-onset Alzheimer’s disease
Responding to the news that journalist and presenter Fiona Phillips has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Professor Nick Fox, joint clinical lead for Rare Dementia Support, a service funded by The National Brain Appeal, and director of the UCL Dementia Research...
Cheshire man raises more than £100K for Rare Dementia Support and the world’s first dedicated centre for people with these conditions.
Grant Berry, from Wilmslow, Cheshire, has raised an incredible £100,000 for The National Brain Appeal. Grant and his company North Edge Capital hosted ninety golfers at a fundraising golf day at The Wilmslow Golf Club on Thursday 29 June, raising just over £50,000....
Chief executive, Theresa Dauncey, to step down after 18 years at the helm
The National Brain Appeal's chief executive Theresa Dauncey has stepped down after 18 and a half years that have seen huge growth and transformation at the charity. “I will always be so thankful for having worked alongside such skilled, talented and motivated people,...
Illingworth family are joined by 200 family and friends for fundraising walk that raised £28,000 for The National Brain Appeal
The Illingworth family from Saddleworth, Oldham, have raised an incredible £28,000 for The National Brain Appeal from inviting more than 200 friends and family to walk with them on Saddleworth Moor on 10th June. The money raised will go to Rare Dementia Support, a...
Rare Dementia Support members help to launch The National Brain Appeal’s Rare Space Garden at Exbury Gardens, its new temporary home
Having moved from RHS Chelsea Flower Show, The National Brain Appeal’s award-winning Rare Space Garden, designed by Charlie Hawkes, is now open to visitors at Exbury Gardens in Hampshire. The garden, sponsored by Project Giving Back, was designed for those living with...
Gemma’s afternoon tea raises more than £1000 for The National Brain Appeal in memory of mum Sally who died age 66 with a rare form of dementia
A fundraising afternoon tea at Whitwick Park Community Hall on Sunday has raised more than £1000 for The National Brain Appeal. The event was organised by Gemma Capes to commemorate her mother Sally Flood who died aged 66 in September 2022, within 18 months of being...
The National Brain Appeal launches an augmented reality garden experience to help people’s understanding of rare dementias
Rare Dementia Support member Jason and his mother, Joy, who has posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), launched a new augmented reality (AR) garden design tool called ‘The Rare Space Garden Experience’ at RHS Chelsea Flower Show on Thursday 25 May. During a visit to...
Charlie Hawkes’s gold medal-winning Sanctuary Garden, The National Brain Appeal’s ‘Rare Space’, shines a spotlight on rare forms of dementia at RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The National Brain Appeal’s ‘Rare Space’ Sanctuary Garden, designed by Charlie Hawkes for the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show has won a gold medal and has also been voted Best Sanctuary Garden and Best Sanctuary Construction. Sponsored by Project Giving Back, the...
Hospital staff enjoy a Coronation Big Lunch, thanks to The National Brain Appeal and Iceland Foods
Staff at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery working on the additional bank holiday to mark the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III, were treated to tea and cakes as part of a Big Lunch event organised by the hospital’s charity, The National...
Elliott, who has inherited form of Alzheimer’s, is The National Brain Appeal charity’s fastest ever marathon runner
Elliott Windsor made history last Sunday as The National Brain Appeal’s fastest ever marathon runner, finishing in an astonishing two hours and 47 minutes. His feat is all the more impressive for the fact that Elliott, who recently turned 40, has Familial Alzheimer’s...
Record number of runners, including hospital staff, for The National Brain Appeal at the London Marathon
Staff at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN), consultant neurosurgeon Mr Neil Kitchen, occupational therapist Helen Stancombe, speech and language therapist Claire Afford, and healthcare assistant Edward Pena, were among the 53 runners...
Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, backs Avril’s epic challenge to walk the Camino Francés to raise money for the world’s first Rare Dementia Support Centre
Avril and husband Michael Staunton are about to undertake the 780 kilometre Camino Francés, the ancient pilgrimage route from St Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Avril was diagnosed with posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) in 2015 when she...
Brothers run the London Marathon for The National Brain Appeal in support of their mother who was diagnosed with dementia in her 50s
Matthew and Richard Clarke, age 30 and 27 respectively, from Worthing in Sussex, will be running the London Marathon this Sunday. Joined by Matthew’s partner, Janina Pescinski, age 33, and their cousin, Ben Humphris, age 29, they will take on the 26-mile challenge to...
Bruce Willis’s Frontotemporal dementia diagnosis – chief executive responds
Responding to the news that actor Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with Frontotemporal dementia, Theresa Dauncey, chief executive of The National Brain Appeal, said: “We are saddened to hear of Bruce Willis’ Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) diagnosis and send our thoughts...
Tune into The National Brain Appeal’s online Carol Concert, with a stellar line up of celebrities, clinicians and musicians
The National Brain Appeal’s annual carol concert, held at the Holy Sepulchre church, Holborn Viaduct, will be streamed online from 19 December. A mix of humorous and moving Christmas-themed readings by actors Dame Siân Phillips, Edward Fox OBE, Genesis Lynea (Silent...
National Brain Appeal marks ten years of supporting frontline NHS staff with their Small Acorns Fund
In 2013, The National Brain Appeal launched Small Acorns, enabling frontline NHS staff to quickly access funding for small-scale projects that would have a positive...
The National Brain Appeal is going to Chelsea Flower Show
The National Brain Appeal is delighted to announce that they have teamed up with award-winning landscape designer Charlie Hawkes for the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Sponsored by Project Giving Back, the charity’s Sanctuary Garden, The National Brain Appeal’s...
Welsh artists with brain injuries take part in The National Brain Appeal’s fundraising art exhibition, A Letter in Mind
Eighteen artists, all with some form of brain injury, are taking part in The National Brain Appeal’s annual art fundraiser A Letter in Mind, where more than 700 artists have created an original piece of art on an envelope, responding to the theme ‘A Sense of...
Don’t miss the chance to buy original art by leading artists and celebrities for just £85 at The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter in Mind exhibition
Original art by Andrew Marr, Greg Wise, Ishbel and Morag Myerscough, Jeremy Deller, Mark Entwisle and many other leading artists and celebrities for just £85 at The National Brain Appeal’s A Letter in Mind exhibition The National Brain Appeal’s art fundraiser A Letter...
‘Team Brain Appeal’ runners raise £125,000 at the 2022 London Marathon
The National Brain Appeal had 38 runners taking part in this year’s London Marathon. Collectively they have raised an incredible £125,000 to support innovative treatments and research at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the UCL Institute of...
Rare Dementia Support team run the London Marathon for The National Brain Appeal
Professor Sebastian Crutch, specialist nurse Jill Walton, postdoctoral researcher Lucy Russell and PhD student Imogen Swift ran the London Marathon, collectively raising more than £11,000 for The National Brain Appeal. The charity funds the Rare Dementia Support...
Serious head injury survivor, David, to run London Marathon with his brother Lee for The National Brain Appeal charity
Brothers David and Lee Maloney, from Bovingdon, will take to the streets of London together on Sunday 2 October to run the London Marathon. They will be raising money for The National Brain Appeal, a charity very close to their hearts, dedicated to supporting the...
Kate is cycling to Paris to raise money for The National Brain Appeal, the charity that supports the hospital where her sister Rachel had brain surgery
Kilburn based lawyer, Kate Boakes, age 33, will be cycling 200 miles from London to Paris to raise money for The National Brain Appeal. Her sister Rachel Boakes, age 31 and a lawyer based in Brixton, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2021 for which she underwent...
National Brain Appeal CEO Theresa Dauncey joins screenwriter Abi Morgan on stage at The Royal Court Theatre for event that raised £3,000 for the charity.
Abi and husband Jacob later have an emotional reunion with the intensive care nurses who cared for him. Bafta and Emmy-award winning playwright and screenwriter Abi Morgan hosted a fundraising event for The National Brain Appeal at The Royal Court Theatre to mark the...
Chris from Sheriff Hutton cycles over 200 miles along the Hebridean Way after having brain surgery twice, raising £3740 for The National Brain Appeal
Chris O’Neill, age 62, has completed an incredible challenge of cycling 205 miles along the Hebridean Way on a specially adapted trike. His achievement is all the more impressive given he has had brain surgery twice in the last five years. Father of three Chris, an...
The overwhelming majority of people with neurological conditions would take part in research if given the chance, National Brain Appeal survey finds
Only 20 per cent have ever been given the opportunity. A new Centre for Neuroscience is being built, designed so that for the first time research and medical appointments will take place side by side to dramatically shorten the time from laboratory to patient. There...
Eighty people from Teesside gather for a fundraising walk for Rare Dementia Support
Friends and family of Holly Braithwaite, thought to be one of the youngest people in the country with Frontotemporal dementia, were determined the day would be a positive celebration Two school friends, Sophie Poulton, age 33, and Kayleigh Spooner, age 34, organised...
Two footballers, both treated on the same ward in the same hospital, raise £8000 for The National Brain Appeal at charity football match
Former Arsenal and England player Kelly Smith MBE played to support the event. Ashleigh Goddard and Amy Carr have known each other throughout their footballing careers. The friends also have something unexpected in common. They were both treated for serious...
Hope for people with aphasia thanks to high dose therapy programme funded by The National Brain Appeal
With the news of actor Bruce Willis retiring from acting following a diagnosis of aphasia, The National Brain Appeal is providing hope for people with the condition through the groundbreaking Aphasia Programme they are funding. Patients with aphasia — speech...
Staff and patients delighted with the Neurorehabilitation Unit, newly refurbished thanks to The National Brain Appeal
Staff and patients at The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) are over the moon with the new facilities and additional space that the refurbishment of the Neurorehabilitation Unit (NRU) has provided. The National Brain Appeal, the charity dedicated...
Freddie Fox and Sophie Thompson light up The National Brain Appeal’s carol concert, sponsored by the Danny Sullivan Group
Now online for everyone to enjoy. Actors including Freddie Fox, Sophie Thompson, Anthony Calf and Joanna David treated National Brain Appeal supporters to humorous and poignant readings at the charity’s virtual carol concert. The event also included musical...
Two lost families reunited through an ancestry website raise £4,800 on their road trip to raise money for Rare Dementia Support.
If they raise £5500, they will unlock another £5,000 from an anonymous donor. Sophie Leggett, age 45 from Lowestoft, and Alistair Davison, age 49 from Somerset have raised an incredible £4,800 for The National Brain Appeal’s Rare Dementia Support, a service both have...
Sir Michael Palin lends his support to The National Brain Appeal’s £7m appeal for world first Rare Dementia Support Centre
Actor David Pibworth hands over £10,000 cheque for the charity's capital project. Sir Michael Palin, Alison Telfer (former wife of the late Terry Jones), and actor David Pibworth visited The National Brain Appeal this week. David was handing over a cheque for...
Two families, affected by Familial Alzheimer’s disease, set off on bus tour to raise money for Rare Dementia Support
Two lost families reunited through an ancestry website set out on road trip to raise money for Rare Dementia Support Nearly ten years ago, Sophie Leggett, age 45 from Lowestoft, was tracked down by Alistair Davison, age 49 from Somerset, via an ancestry website. She...
RDS member, Sophie, shares her story for Radio 4 Charity Appeal
Sophie Leggett, who carries the gene for young-onset Alzheimer’s, shares her story on BBC Radio 4 to help raise money for The National Brain Appeal. Sophie Leggett, age 45, is living with the knowledge that she carries a rare gene mutation that causes young onset...
UK’s first large scale, charitably funded, immunotherapy clinical trial for patients with glioblastoma recruits final patients
Recruitment completed for the most significant clinical trial in decades for patients with brain cancer, funded by The National Brain Appeal. Follow-up trials are planned to start later this year. The National Brain Appeal reflects back on more than ten years of...
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Registered Charity No. 290173. A limited company registered in England. No. 01844281