13.09.2021
- Led by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, organizations and experts call for the promotion of research as the only way to overcome the disease, and for more resources to improve the quality of life of those affected, their families and caregivers.
- More than 900,000 people in Spain suffer from dementia, 75% of cases due to Alzheimer's disease, and if no treatment is found, the number of cases could double by 2050.
- Before the event, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation has delivered to the President of Congress, Meritxell Batet, a document with 500,000 signatures of support to demand political action for Alzheimer's research.
Madrid, September 13, 2021 - The main organizations related to Alzheimer's disease and the field of the elderly have demanded this Monday, in the Congress of Deputies, a political commitment to make Alzheimer's a strategic priority in the scientific, health and care field, which promotes research as the only way to overcome the disease.
They did so at the event "The challenges of Alzheimer's and dementias", promoted by the Pasqual Maragall Foundation together with the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), the Spanish Alzheimer's Confederation (CEAFA), the Matia Foundation and HelpAge, as part of World Alzheimer's Day, to be held on September 21. The President of the Congress, Meritxell Batet, was responsible for opening the event, which also featured the testimonies of a newly diagnosed person, two family caregivers and a participant in research studies.
As Cristina Maragall, President of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, said in her welcome speech: "Alzheimer's is a silent and structural epidemic that will only find definitive answers through science and research. Experts and organizations have come together here today to demand the political attention that this reality deserves. Because it is in our hands to prevent Alzheimer's from endangering our health and care system".
Currently, more than 900,000 people in Spain suffer from dementia, 75% of cases due to Alzheimer's disease. That is one in 10 people over the age of 65, and a third of those over the age of 85. With life expectancy increasing, and if no treatment is found to modify its course, the number of cases could double by 2050.
More resources for research and early diagnosis
Dr. Raquel Sánchez Valle, head of the Neurology Service at Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and Secretary of the Spanish Neurology Society (SEN) Behavior and Dementias Study Group, has called for an adequate budget allocation for the National Alzheimer's Plan:
"In serious diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, early diagnosis is key to improving the quality of life of those affected and reducing costs. We have had the proven and approved tools for years, but only a minority of centers in Spain, and therefore a minority of patients, have access to them. We need the National Alzheimer's Plan to guarantee this access to the entire population," he said.
The health and social costs of neurodegenerative diseases are also extraordinarily high. A conservative estimate puts them at 21,000 million euros per year, 24,000 euros per person affected per year, 87% of which are borne directly by their families. To these economic costs must be added the personal, social, psychological and labor costs suffered by family caregivers, whose situation is also not given the consideration it deserves.
Social challenges and citizens' rights
Ainhoa Etayo, member of CEAFA's Associative Care Area, commented: "early and accurate diagnosis is the most urgent challenge, as it is the basis for deploying all actions and social and health resources to ensure compliance with the rights and guarantees of all people affected by dementia, and this includes family caregivers".
For Mayte Sancho, member of the Board of Trustees of the Matia Foundation, "it is urgent that society in general supports people with Alzheimer's disease, normalizing their participation and presence in any area of social and community life. We cannot allow them to lose a single right of citizenship, nor can we allow stereotypes about the disease to justify exclusionary behavior".
Along the same lines, Isabel Martínez Lozano, president of HelpAge and of the Mesa Estatal por los Derechos de las Personas Mayores, said: "All people have the right to be cared for with adequate resources, to maintain spaces of freedom, their identity and their social and emotional relationships. But they also have the right to decide, with the necessary support. For this reason, a legal modification is urgently needed that does not deny them their capacity to act, nor modify their right to decide legally without adequate guarantees".
A social concern of great magnitude
Before the event, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation delivered to the President of Congress, Meritxell Batet, a manifesto with 500,000 signatures of citizen support to demand political action against Alzheimer's disease and a commitment to research.
This action reflects, once again, the great social impact of Alzheimer's disease, as also reflected in the study "Attitudes and perceptions of the Spanish population on Alzheimer's disease", in which citizens place the disease as the second most worrying health condition, just after cancer. In addition, 2 out of every 3 Spaniards say they know someone with Alzheimer's disease.
-
The full video of the event held in the Congress of Deputies is available by clicking here.