Axonome comes from two words: axon and tome. An axon is the long arm of a neuron that carries signals to other cells, allowing for communication. A tome is a substantial book or body of knowledge. Together, Axonome reflects the goal of this site: to serve as a clear, organized, and scientifically grounded resource on neurodegenerative disease.

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Axonome is designed for a broad audience. Patients and families should be able to understand the core ideas without needing a scientific background, while students, trainees, clinicians, and researchers should still find enough depth to make the content useful. Neurodegenerative diseases are complex, and many public resources either oversimplify them or scatter the important information across disconnected pages. Axonome aims to bridge that gap by explaining diseases, genes, mechanisms, treatments, lifestyle factors, and supplement evidence in one place. While this platform is intended to make complex scientific concepts more understandable, it should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice.

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This project is also personal. It was motivated in part by my grandfather’s struggle with neurodegenerative disease, and by a broader desire to make the science behind these conditions more accessible to the people affected by them. Families facing these diseases often want more than a short definition or a list of symptoms. They want to understand what is happening, why it matters, what is known, what is still uncertain, and which claims should be treated cautiously.

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The diseases currently highlighted were chosen because they are among the most common, and this list is not meant to be exhaustive. There is too much research out there to summarize it all, but I have attempted to find what I believe are the most compelling findings and the discoveries most likely to improve patient outcomes. Axonome will continue to expand over time to include additional diseases, mechanisms, genes, and emerging areas of research. If there is a topic or paper that is not discussed on the site that you would like to learn more about, please contact me and I will add it to the site.

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Axonome was created by Ben Johnson (me), a researcher working in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Milbrandt at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. My work focuses on Parkinson’s Disease and Spastic Paraplegia, specifically the mitochondria-Golgi axis and iron-sulfur cluster dysregulation. 

Axonome is an independent project created outside the scope of the Milbrandt Lab. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or representative of Washington University School of Medicine or any associated institution. All views and content presented are solely my own. This project is entirely self-funded; I have not taken any money from pharmaceutical companies or other organizations.