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Brain Fables
An estimated 80 million people live with a neurodegenerative disease. That number is expected to increase rapidly as populations age, lifespans increase, and exposure to toxins rises. Despite decades of research and billions in funding, there are no medications that can slow, much less stop, the progress of these diseases. This is because diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's do not exist in biology. Yet, hundreds of clinical trials around the world are examining the potential of single therapies in thousands of people sharing one of these labels. Compounding the problem, these therapies were developed on evidence from models that do not come close to capturing the complexity of these diseases in the affected humans. These practices must end. Brain Fables is a call to refocus on understanding living and aging to create the personalized treatments each affected individual desperately needs.
178 pages, Paperback
First published June 29, 2020
28 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 24, 2020
Hi everyone!
This book was very interesting... I'm hopefully going into med school this year and I love learning about the brain and diseases that we haven't fully understood yet. In fact, this book actually inspired and motivated me to study :).
'Brain Fables' is divided into two points of view: one that analyzes the discovery of Parkinson's and its research and the other one: a middle aged man that got diagnosed and his journey through acceptance and hope in new treatments (using both eastern and western medicine).
I understand this book might not be for anyone, but if you're interested in medicine or even Parkinson's disease in particular, you should definitely read this book
This book was very interesting... I'm hopefully going into med school this year and I love learning about the brain and diseases that we haven't fully understood yet. In fact, this book actually inspired and motivated me to study :).
'Brain Fables' is divided into two points of view: one that analyzes the discovery of Parkinson's and its research and the other one: a middle aged man that got diagnosed and his journey through acceptance and hope in new treatments (using both eastern and western medicine).
I understand this book might not be for anyone, but if you're interested in medicine or even Parkinson's disease in particular, you should definitely read this book
June 17, 2021
I have finished the book and I love it! I totally recommend this! Thank you Alberto and Ben! You inspired me to be a oncologist!
January 3, 2021
This was a very good book if you are looking to understand Parkinson's disease. It is also a book that gives hope in helping/curing people with this awful disease. It details very extensive research and I think that all neurologists should read this book. It has essential information that could help thousands of people suffering from Parkinson's. As a layperson some of it was a little beyond my understanding, but it still gave me a very good grasp of the disease and the research that could change Parkinson's as we know it. Excellent reading!
November 23, 2020
Technical and easy to read. I agree with Alberto and Ben’s arguments about the future of Parkinson’s research needing a shift. I look forward to the outcomes.
May 31, 2023
Good but very wordy. They could have just stated the multi-disease thesis ten chapters earlier rather than beating around the bush. It's a strong and good idea, just tell us.
Also they never really unified their alternative explanation for what we call "clinical pd": that they are all the people who have damaged neurons in the substantia nigra. They don't all have the same disease - or the same progression - but they have dopamine deficiency related symptoms.
After clearing this up they could have introduced various groupings and ways we could go forward. So in general I felt like even the authors were so steeped in classical views that they missed the chance to outline a new research program based on personalize medicine and pd as a cluster of 10 or 100 diseases. As a layman this view is convincing! The authors definitely have some PTSD related to the alpha-synuclein hypothesis.
Still, I liked it and I was very happy it exists. And I hope their predictions for the 2020s come true, and neurology can advance.
Also they never really unified their alternative explanation for what we call "clinical pd": that they are all the people who have damaged neurons in the substantia nigra. They don't all have the same disease - or the same progression - but they have dopamine deficiency related symptoms.
After clearing this up they could have introduced various groupings and ways we could go forward. So in general I felt like even the authors were so steeped in classical views that they missed the chance to outline a new research program based on personalize medicine and pd as a cluster of 10 or 100 diseases. As a layman this view is convincing! The authors definitely have some PTSD related to the alpha-synuclein hypothesis.
Still, I liked it and I was very happy it exists. And I hope their predictions for the 2020s come true, and neurology can advance.
December 12, 2025
The depth of knowledge in and enthusiasm for the disease and its cure is very evident in the book, but I still didn't enjoy it as much because I couldn't grasp if the book was for non-medical, non-suffering people like me, or medical professionals, or perhaps to be a ray of hope for people who directly or indirectly suffer because of Parkinson's.
It was very technical. Additionally, every chapter seemed like a rant about how the medical profession has been wrong about diagnosing and treating it.
Great wealth of knowledge, but a poor read.
It was very technical. Additionally, every chapter seemed like a rant about how the medical profession has been wrong about diagnosing and treating it.
Great wealth of knowledge, but a poor read.
July 15, 2021
brilliant brilliant brilliant <3
November 22, 2023
[Brain Fables - Alberto Espay, Benjamin Stecher → ☆☆☆.5]
December 11, 2025
Great beginner book to introduce yourself to neuroscience
December 11, 2023
3 stars.
An insightful book, but a bit difficult to absorb on audio. Will come back to it in the near future.
what I liked:
-the commentary the authors had on science and the scientific process as a whole.
-the information about the diseases were interesting and educational; I had no idea they were as complex as they are.
-Reading this made me feel incredibly small, because the amount of undiscovered knowledge about the brain is still incredibly large. It was a good kind of small, though— it puts things in perspective.
-I also got a few good quotes out of this: you don't see the world as it is, but as you are and there's comfort in convergence (or something along those lines😅)
why this didn't score higher:
-I felt like I needed a bit more prior knowledge going in; a lot of the complex discussions about the proteins had to be repeated two or three times, and even then, I didn't always understand fully. It was a difficult book to absorb on audio, I think.
-When the images/ graphs/ tables were discussed, I just zoned out because there were obviously no images for me to see.
-There were so many acronyms, and I got them mixed up a lot, or just gave up on guessing what they were (echoic memory just isn't as strong as iconic memory is😭).
-This is a scientific book, but I think it would've helped a lot if the authors had tried to explain things in simpler terms; it sure would've been a little easier to absorb.
.
An insightful book, but a bit difficult to absorb on audio. Will come back to it in the near future.
what I liked:
-the commentary the authors had on science and the scientific process as a whole.
-the information about the diseases were interesting and educational; I had no idea they were as complex as they are.
-Reading this made me feel incredibly small, because the amount of undiscovered knowledge about the brain is still incredibly large. It was a good kind of small, though— it puts things in perspective.
-I also got a few good quotes out of this: you don't see the world as it is, but as you are and there's comfort in convergence (or something along those lines😅)
why this didn't score higher:
-I felt like I needed a bit more prior knowledge going in; a lot of the complex discussions about the proteins had to be repeated two or three times, and even then, I didn't always understand fully. It was a difficult book to absorb on audio, I think.
-When the images/ graphs/ tables were discussed, I just zoned out because there were obviously no images for me to see.
-There were so many acronyms, and I got them mixed up a lot, or just gave up on guessing what they were (echoic memory just isn't as strong as iconic memory is😭).
-This is a scientific book, but I think it would've helped a lot if the authors had tried to explain things in simpler terms; it sure would've been a little easier to absorb.
.
July 8, 2022
After reading the first chapter, I wasn't sure if I would be able to finish this relatively dense book. But I toughly enjoyed reading this since the field is rife with controversies the authors made exciting to read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews