The German Brain Council was pleased to present “German Brain Plan – Agenda 2030” at the 8th Academy of National Brain Councils. The event, organised by the European Brain Council, took place on 10th May 2022 and was hosted at the Representation of the Free State of Bavaria to the European Union in Brussels, Belgium.
Five examples covering the entire human lifespan, from stroke to depression, were presented to highlight these facts and ask for quick and effective help from policymakers and society to support research on better prevention and treatment.
5 diseases – 5 representative examples
- Traumatic brain injuries in children, adolescents and adults
- Alzheimer’s dementia as an example of a degenerative disease
- Depression in children and adults
- 5q-linked spinal muscular atrophy as an example of a rare disease
- Stroke in children and adults
Health– and disease-span topics
- Prevention and rehabilitation
- E-health, digitalisation, telemedicine
The fields of neurology and psychiatry perform research on, diagnose and treat several hundred diseases, including numerous well-known diseases. In addition to the widespread diseases, there are also thousands of rare diseases. New challenges, such as long COVID, add to the spectrum of brain diseases.
Brain health is of great societal importance because …
- Physical and mental health is not possible without a healthy brain.
- One in three people is affected by a brain disease. This means individual suffering, loss of quality of life and autonomy and reduced productivity of hundreds of millions of people in Germany alone.
- Brain health is the most important national resource for our society and a prerequisite for education, creativity, innovation and international competitiveness.
- Brain diseases cause a high health economic burden. Brain diseases result in direct costs of over 60 billion euros per year for the health care system. This amount corresponds to almost 20% of all health spending. The total costs of brain diseases for the German national economy are at least three times higher.
- Disorders at an early age can have effects throughout life, e.g., on education or life expectancy.
There is a strong need to advocate for:
- Life-long, good brain health, prevention and better quality of life
- Patient-oriented health and care services that also consider the environment of patients and their relatives
- Good care and the best possible participation right from the start of symptoms to diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation
- Improved knowledge and quality through research and innovation