EFNS/ENS Joint Congress of European Neurology: 31 May – 3 June 2014, Istanbul
Over 220 million people in Europe suffer from a neurological disease. Neuropsychiatric diseases incur higher costs for the European economies than cancer or cardiovascular disorders combined. The incidence of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s or stroke will skyrocket in an aging society. Experts at the Joint Congress of European Neurology called on health care policymakers to put neurology at the top of the agenda.
Istanbul, 1 June 2014 – “The dimension of neurological diseases continues to be underestimated but should be a top priority in health care policy.” This was the message emphasised today by Prof Gustave Moonen (Liège University, Belgium) and Prof Jacques L. De Reuck (Ghent University Clinic, Belgium) at the Joint Congress of European Neurology currently meeting in Istanbul. The two chairmen of the Congress Programme Committee gave an overview of how many people have neurological diseases and of the burden these diseases put on the systems for health care and social services.
At this major scientific event, international experts present the most important current trends and highlights in modern neurological research and therapy at some 120 sessions. The findings of recent studies are presented in more than 1,800 abstracts. The Congress is staged by the European Federation of Neurological Societies (EFNS) and the European Neurological Society (ENS). These two European associations have been merged in the course of the Congress to create the new European Academy of Neurology (EAN).
220 million Europeans suffer from a neurological disease
Current data from the European Brain Council indicates that 220.7 million people in Europe suffer from a neurological disease. Headaches lead the list (with 152.8 million sufferers), followed by insomnia and sleep disorders (44.9 million), stroke (8.2 million) and dementia (6.3 million). These diseases put enormous burdens on the people suffering from them, on their social environment, on society and on health care systems. Prof Moonen: “It is all the more important that the European Brain Council designated 2014 as the European Year of the Brain. It is crucially important to raise awareness of brain and brain health as issues in the public arena, the scientific community and amongst policymakers and politicians.“
Dramatic rise in neurological diseases
Prof De Reuck: “Disorders such as strokes, Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease all occur more often in old age. With life expectancy on the rise, the incidence of many neurological diseases will therefore skyrocket. The health care systems must start making preparations now to meet this challenge.” As a measure of the total burden of a disease, the World Health Organisation WHO uses a disease DALYs (disability adjusted life years: number of years of life lost due to early death combined with the number of years of life lost as a result of disability, whereby the years are multiplied by a given factor based on the severity of the disability). The WHO has calculated that the DALYs from neurological diseases will rise from a projected 95 million in 2015 to 103 million in 2030, an increase of more than nine per cent. This growth is attributable especially to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia (up 37 per cent from 2015 to 2030) or cerebrovascular diseases (up 13 per cent). “In the meantime, neurology has also changed from being quite a diagnostically oriented discipline to a therapeutic discipline. Along with this change, the need for neurologists has risen. Stakeholders in the health care system must be made aware of this fact,” Prof De Reuck said.
Huge financial burden on systems for health care and social services
Neurological diseases put huge cost burdens on systems for health care and social services. According to the European Brain Council and the published CDBE2010 figures, neurological diseases incur total annual costs of EUR 336 billion in the European economies. The 27 EU member states are included in this calculation along with Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. Direct treatment costs and direct non-medical costs each account for EUR 122 billion of the total while indirect costs account for EUR 93 billion. Prof De Reuck: “Dementia ranks first on the list of the most expensive diseases, as expected. It caused EUR 105.2 billion in costs in Europe in 2010.”
Intensive research efforts are necessary
This challenge goes out not only to health care policymakers but also to the scientific community. Despite significant advances in brain research in recent decades, many functions of the brain are still not fully understood. Experts say further intensive research efforts are required in this area. Prof Moonen: “To counter the growing burden from neurological diseases in a suitable way, a well-coordinated general plan is needed at international level for basic research and clinically applied research. One way to promote joint efforts is to network at European level, just as this congress is encouraging everyone to do. We can expect to see progress for the affected patients from this approach and from international collaboration in studies and clinical trials.”
Sources:
BrainFacts.org, Brain Disease in Europe, November 2013; Olesen J et al.: The economic cost of brain disorders in Europe. European Journal of Neurology 2012, 19: 155-162; WHO: Neurological Disorders: Public Health Challenges, Chapter 2, Global Burden of Neurological Disorders. Estimates and Projections; WHO Atlas, Country Resources for Neurological Disorders
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