Neurological disorders affect 1 billion people--WHO
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Neurological disorders affect 1 billion people--WHO*
27 Feb 2007 13:00:08 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Neurological disorders ranging from migraines
to epilepsy and dementia affect up to one billion people worldwide and
the toll will rise as populations age, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) warned on Tuesday.
The number of people suffering from Alzheimer and other debilitating
dementias, currently some 24.3 million people, is expected to double
every 20 years, with prevalence levels rising in developing countries,
it said.
In a report entitled "Neurological Disorders: Public Health Challenges",
the United Nations agency urged that neurological care become part of
basic health care so that underdetected disabilities are diagnosed and
treated, especially in Africa.
"Unless immediate action is taken globally, the neurological burden is
expected to become an even more serious and unmanageable threat to
public health," the WHO said.
Neurological disorders -- which also include strokes, multiple
sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and brain injuries -- kill an estimated
6.8 million people each year, accounting for 12 percent of global
deaths, it said.
"The burden of neurological disorders is reaching a significant
proportion in countries with a growing percentage of the population over
65 years old," Nobel medicine laureate Rita Levi-Montalcini said in a
foreword to the report.
Some cause paralysis, while others cause memory loss and other cognitive
impairments, behavioural problems such as uncontrolled anger, or speech
problems.
Yet weak health care systems, lack of trained personnel and essential
drugs, and traditional beliefs which stigmatise many illnesses are
deepening the treatment divide between rich and poorer nations, the WHO
said.
Rehabilitation services are "limited or nonexistent in many developing
countries" for people with disabilities attributable to neurological
disorders, the report said.
Some 50 million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy, most of them in
developing countries, but an "overwhelming majority" of patients don't
receive drugs to halt the seizures, it said.
"Despite the fact that highly effective, low-cost treatments are
available, as many as nine out of 10 people suffering from epilepsy in
Africa go untreated," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan.
Many people with neurological disabilities in poor communities depend
totally on other people, usually family members, for help with daily
life, according to the report.
"In some African countries, people believe that saliva can spread
epilepsy or that the "epileptic spirit" can be transferred to anyone who
witnesses a seizure. These misconceptions cause people to retreat in
fear from someone having a seizure, leaving that person unprotected
...," it said.
Aspirin is the most cost-effective intervention for treating acute
stroke and for preventing a recurrence, yet coverage with this
inexpensive treatment is still "extremely low", it added.