Lay Summaries

This section contains lay summaries for all of the projects supported by BRAIN UK. They are grouped by disorder and, for the most recent studies , by year. Please note, some studies may appear in more than one category.

Advice and guidance about how to write a good lay summary for your research project can be found in the formstore .

Tumour

A tumour is a collection, or mass, of abnormal cells. Tumours can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign).

Neurodegenerative (Other)

A degenerative disease deteriorates the function or structure of tissues or organs, e.g. Huntington's or Parkinson's disease.

Cerebrovascular

Cerebrovascular diseases are conditions caused by problems that affect the blood supply to the brain, e.g. stroke or subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Developmental

Developmental conditions such as Autism or Alpers'

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder marked by sudden recurrent episodes of sensory disturbance, loss of consciousness, or convulsions, associated with abnormal electrical activity in the brain.

Genetic

A disease or condition caused by an absent or defective gene or by a chromosomal irregularity, e.g. Down's Syndrome.

Inflammation

Inflammatory neurological disorders such as encephalitis or meningitis.

Neurodegenerative (Alzheimer's)

Alzheimer's is a progressive disease that causes problems with memory, thinking and behaviour.

Psychiatric

Mental or psychiatric illness refers to a wide range of mental health conditions — disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behaviour, e.g. Schizophrenia or Bipolar disorder.

Image showing healthy brain vs. diseased brain

Control

Studies which only use tissue with no significant neuropathological abnormality (control tissue).

Image: Myelin loss in Multiple Sclerosis

Demyelination

A demyelinating disease is any disease of the nervous system in which the myelin sheath of neurons is damaged, e.g. Multiple sclerosis.

Trauma

Brain trauma conditions such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)