Welcome to the online press kit for Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone

Cutting-edge research into neuroplasticity, the brains ability to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust to deal with these changes, holds hope for treating blindness, brain injury and many diseases. As one of the world’s leading researchers on neuroplasticity, Dr. Alvaro Pascual-Leone illuminates new discoveries on the frontier of medical research into the mind.

Pascual-Leone, M.D., Ph.D., is Professor of Neurology and an Associate Dean for Clinical and Translational Research at Harvard Medical School. He serves as the Director of the Berenson-Allen Center for Noninvasive Brain Stimulation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and is a practicing behavioral neurologist.

A world leader in research and development, clinical application, and teaching of noninvasive brain stimulation, Dr. Pascual-Leone ranks number 1 among authors worldwide in "Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation" and "Noninvasive Brain Stimulation" (www.Authoratory.com). In clinical trials, his team has provided proof-of-principle evidence for the efficacy of noninvasive brain stimulation in treating various neurologic and psychiatric conditions, including epilepsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, autism, and drug-resistant depression. His research supports NovaVision’s Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT). NovaVision has a suite of products targeted at neurologically induced vision loss. The Company’s lead product Vision Restoration Therapy (VRT) is prescription based and is the only FDA cleared therapy (510k) for restoration of vision loss from neurological damage. NovaVision is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vycor Medical, Inc. (www.VycorMedical.com). VRT has been shown to restore vision following neurological trauma such as stroke and traumatic brain injury (TBI), which affects more than 20% of victims according to recent independent research. Vycor says the therapy is effective in approximately 70% of patients, based on decades of research and 20 clinical studies.

For centuries, scientists thought the brain was fixed and unchangeable. Thanks to a recent explosion of research into neuroplasticity, the pendulum has swung towards hopes that brain therapies will become a cure-all. The reality is exciting yet sobering, Dr. Pascual-Leone says. Researchers delving into brain-based healing are discovering that changes that benefit one person may be detrimental to another. For that reason, neuroplasticity treatments must be backed by science, prescribed to fit each patient and monitored which goes against the plethora of non - prescription brain training type Apps promising benefits to all.

“In developing some of these interventions, having detailed knowledge of the structures and the systems in the nervous system that give rise to their normal function and the dysfunction is particularly important,” Dr. Pascual-Leone says.

Revolutionary research such as that conducted by Dr. Pascual-Leone has brought with it fundamental questions. These include how to harness and guide plasticity so it best serves each individual, to promote, enhance and speed up recovery and restoration of function.

Dr. Pascual-Leone has devoted his 30-plus-year career to understanding and explaining how the human brain changes to cope with injury and illness.

“There is a real message of hope for all of us,” he says, “in the sense there is an opportunity to overcome difficulties and cope with the challenges that life throws at us.”

For more information, visit www.VycorMedical.com