Staglin Family Vineyards hosts brain health symposium

RUTHERFORD - The annual Music Festival for Brain Health at Staglin Family Vineyard is one of the most lavish fundraisers in Napa Valley. But strip away the glitz and the glamour, and the event at its core is about one family's quest to bring awareness for a cause.

Money raised during the event supports IMHRO (One Mind Institute), which seeks to pay for innovative research to better diagnose, treat, prevent and ultimately cure psychiatric diseases. The Staglins founded One Mind, a network within IMHRO, to help connect researchers so that they can share their findings and collaborate to develop new, more successful brain health treatments.

Brandon Staglin, son of Garen and Shari Staglin, was diagnosed with schizophrenia 25 years ago, and at Saturday's fundraiser, he stood as an example of the importance of research for the advancement of brain health treatments.

"We like to use the term "brain health" over "mental health" because mental health has such a stigma," Shari Staglin said. "The brain is what drives us. It's just as important as our heart and lungs, so we need to be specific when we say we're advocating for brain health. We know we need to exercise to take care of our hearts, but what can we do to keep our brain healthy?

Now in its 21st year, the festival always kicks off with a scientific symposium where researchers and scientists discuss their efforts to find effective treatments for traumatic brain injuries as well as brain disorders such as schizophrenia and depression.

"I think it is very inspiring to hear about what these researchers are developing and working on," said Brandon, who is on the board of directors for IMHRO, to an audience of nearly 300 guests. "It gives me a lot of hope."

Keynote speaker Dr. Geoffrey Manley, professor and vice chairman of neurosurgery at UCSF and a member of the One Mind network, discussed how his research into traumatic brain injuries could lead to better understandings of diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Manley said there are 2.5 million people who seek treatment for traumatic brain injuries every year, and he expects this number will only grow as people live longer. He referred to the increase of seniors with traumatic brain injuries as the "silver tsunami." Older people are more likely to fall and hit their heads in the process. However, while doctors have been finding ways to help people live longer, there hasn't been enough research into the diseases that come as a result of old age.

"We haven't been studying seniors," Manley said. "And that is a huge problem."

Manley said more people are talking about traumatic brain injuries these days because of an increased incidence of football-related problems. But he was noted that there are plenty of ways to sustain a head injury, such as being struck by a car because you were walking and texting and not paying attention to your surroundings.

He and his colleagues in the "Knowledge Network," which consists of 11 research sites in the United States and Canada, hope to study 3,000 patients of all ages in their next project to better understand the lasting effects of traumatic brain injuries. So far, 1,136 patients have enrolled in the program, they said.

"To understand how an injured brain works, it's too complicated for one person to solve that problem," Manley said, but if the researchers continue to foster collaboration over competition he believes the research community can begin to make the needed strides to move brain health into a sphere where it is easier to find government and financial support for continued research.

Following the symposium, Shari Staglin said she's already looking forward to next year's presentation.

"We are so proud to host this festival every year," she said. "In our first year, we didn't know who would show up, but it gets bigger and better every year. Yes, we have the wine tasting and the concert, but the symposium is my favorite. It's so energizing to hear about what these researchers are working on."

After the symposium, which was free to the public, event ticket holders were invited to a wine tasting and private concert by Melissa Etheridge.

In 21 years, the Music Festival For Brain Health has raised $223 million.

To learn more about One Mind, visit onemind.org.