Improving brain health “must be a top priority and G7 leaders can do their part to coordinate global policies and adopt a One Health approach.” This is the request of neurologists Paul Boon, Elena Moro and Matilde Leonardi, of the European Academy of Neurology, who published in the ‘Health’ section, together with the Canadian neurologist Hachinski, the article “Changing the mindset” which urges the G7 leaders and the political leaders of every country to take care of brain health. The article will be delivered to all delegates who will participate in the Puglia Summit.
The aging of the population and changes in lifestyle are risk factors now automatically associated with heart disease. In reality, they are also among the main causes of many neurological diseases which represent the second cause of death and the first cause of disability globally. Despite the high incidence of neurological diseases, access to prevention services is insufficient, especially in low- and middle-income countries. For this reason, we read in the paper, “we need to be courageous and adopt global, multilevel and pragmatic solutions to promote brain health, not only when a pathology occurs, but throughout the entire lifespan as also hoped for by the WHO ”.
For neurologists, taking care of brain health must “enter into the perspective of improving health that every country can and must adopt, promoted at every level so that it can be followed by the majority of people and in totally different contexts – they point out – There they are in fact very simple activities that with minimal effort can help achieve important results in terms of prevention.” “Physical activity and regular sleep, a balanced diet and blood pressure control, stopping smoking and cultivating social connections that promote brain, mental and social functions are actions that are good for our brain – recalls Matilde Leonardi, director of the SC Neurology, public health, disability and the Coma Research Center of the Irccs Foundation Carlo Besta Neurological Institute of Milan and member of the board of the European Academy of Neurology – If only 10% of people changed their mentality we could witness a rather rapid transformation”.
“To do this we really need to change our approach – he underlines – from tackling problems to preventing them. Italy is at the forefront with a few other countries, Finland, Switzerland, Norway, India, in promoting brain health and on 12 March last , coordinated by the president of the Italian Neurology Society, Alessandro Padovani, the Italian Strategy for brain health 2024-2031 was launched at the Chamber”.
In this global game for brain health and reducing the impact of mental and neurological diseases, politics can also play its part. In the document, the experts explain in three points the actions that the G7 leaders and every government should undertake: declare brain health (neurological, mental and social) an absolute priority throughout people’s lives; coordinate, integrate and catalyze brain and mental health policies; connect global, regional and national brain health plans and stimulate them to implement a One Health approach at the heart of care systems, policies and interventions.
#Neurologists #appeal #leaders #priority #improve #brain #health