A Forthcoming Pandemic: fastest growing Parkinson’s Disease
“Pandemics are usually equated with infectious diseases like Zika, influenza, and HIV,” says Ray Dorsey, a neurologist at the University of Rochester Medical Center. “But neurological disorders are now the leading cause of disability in the world and the fastest growing is Parkinson’s disease.”
The number of people with Parkinson’s disease will soon grow to pandemic proportions, experts warn, and the medical community needs to mobilize to respond to the impending public health threat.
The University of Rochester Medical Center has discovered that the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease will reach pandemic proportions by 2040, at a rate of growth that outpaces that of Alzheimer’s disease.
There are currently 6.9 million Parkinson’s sufferers, and this is expected to more than double by 2040 to 14.2m, growing at rate of 105%.
This forecast is based on the twofold increase in the number of people with Parkinson’s between 1990 and 2015 – but even these figures are conservative, as the disease is often under-reported and misdiagnosed.
Professor Bastiaan Bloem, of the Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands, said: “People with HIV infection simply demanded better treatments and successfully rallied for both awareness and new treatments, literally chaining themselves to the doors of pharmaceutical companies. Today, HIV has become a treatable, chronic disease. This upcoming increase in the number of Parkinson’s patients is striking, and frankly, worrisome. We feel it is urgent that people with Parkinson’s go to the pharmaceutical industry and policymakers alike, demanding immediate action to fight this enormous threat.
”Dr Dorsey continued: “For too long the Parkinson’s community has been too quiet on these issues. Building on the AIDS community’s motto of ‘silence equals death’, the Parkinson’s community should make their voices heard. The current and future burden of this debilitating disease depends upon their action.”
The two academics argue that access to care for Parkinson’s – a highly treatable condition – is also limited. In the US for example, more than 40% of individuals with Parkinson’s over the age of 65 do not see a neurologist, while an online survey of 35 European countries showed that 40% of respondents had never seen a Parkinson’s specialist. In less wealthy nations, many are never diagnosed. In a door-to-door study in Bolivia, none of the individuals found to have the condition had ever been diagnosed or received treatment.
Their commentary builds on the Global Burden of Disease study, co-authored by Professor Dorsey, which appeared in The Lancet Neurology in September.
The findings showed neurological disorders are now the leading source of disability globally – and they show no signs of slowing down.
It tracked the prevalence of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, MS and migraine, both globally and by country.
Dr Todd Sherer, CEO of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, said: “Too many people have Parkinson’s today and more will face diagnoses tomorrow. We all – government, patient organisations, researchers, doctors and patients – must work together for better care for those living with this disease and research toward a future without Parkinson’s.”
