Brussels, 04/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 February, the European Brain Council (EBC) held a forum in Brussels, bringing together scientists, doctors, patients ands representatives of the European institutions, including Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik. The aim of the forum was to exchange ideas and experiences at European level and to raise public awareness of illnesses of the central nervous system.
The EBC called on the European Union and its member states to: - recognise brain disease as a public health issue; - raise awareness and understanding of brain diseases among the general public and support prevention programmes; - promote cooperation within and among member states and establish European standards of care; - prioritise funding for research on brain diseases in relevant national and European programmes; - strengthen the partnership among scientists, patients and carers.
The main focus of the forum was on Parkinson's disease, the total annual cost of which is estimated at €10.7 billion in Europe. Parkinson's is a very complex disease with extremely varied symptoms (it can affect thought, memories, movement, feelings, and more) on which there remains a great deal of research to be carried out, said Dr Pierre Pollack, of the Neurology Department of the CHU de Grenoble (France). Such research can also prove useful to our understanding of many other brain diseases, such as neurodegenerative illnesses. Beyond the priority that should be given to research, EBC President Professor Jes Olesen stressed the need to build up a European network of multidisciplinary centres of excellence dedicated to brain diseases, which require a high level of specialisation among neurologists, general practitioners and neurosurgeons and nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists and other care staff. Unfortunately, although the number of patients living with brain diseases is growing, because of increased life expectancy there is an increasingly severe shortage of such specialised personnel. Multidisciplinary and specialised care is all the more necessary as a general practitioner does not, in his/her normal practice, come across urinary problems (hypertonia) and intestinal problems (which can even lead to complete paralysis) that a Parkinson's disease sufferer presents, said Dr Pollack, arguing for a European policy on brain diseases.
127 million Europeans suffer from brain disease, the most prevalent of which is migraine. 21 million people suffer from depression, 4.9 million from dementia, 1.2 million from Parkinson's disease and 380,000 from multiple sclerosis. The total cost of brain diseases in Europe has been estimated at €387 billion per year. (O.J.)