By Martin Banks - 28th October 2010
There is a very fragmented approach to tackling it
Marisa Matias
A senior European commission official has conceded that member states "need to do more" to help people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
Addressing a hearing in parliament on Thursday, Nicholas Fahy said that, currently, "not enough" is known about how to treat Alzheimer's and other similar conditions.
Fahy, deputy head of unit at the commission's health and consumer protection DG, said that tackling the issue was "one of the big health challenges" facing the EU and member states.
Outlining the commission's communication on Alzheimer's which among other things aims to improve diagnosis rates, he said the problem was compounded by demographic changes and the current economic downturn which had put additional strains on national health budgets.
Fahy reminded the hearing, organised by the environmental health protection committee, that health remains essentially an issue for member states but that the EU still had an "important" role to play in addressing the problem.
The event was told that Alzheimer's presents a "daunting" challenge to member states with some 7.3 million people aged between 30 and 99 said to suffer some form of dementia.
Within this group, more women - 4.9m - than men - 2.4m - are affected.
With the increase in life expectancy, the increase in dementia is expected to double every 20 years.
The hearing was told that Alzheimer's is an "expensive disease" with the estimated annual cost estimated to be €21,000 per patient across the member states.
Support for the EU initiative came from Real Madrid coach José Mourinho who, via a video message, said he was "personally committed" to helping people with Alzheimer's and their families.
Portuguese MEP Marisa Matias, who is parliament's rapporteur on the issue, told this website the former Chelsea boss "did not hesitate" to lend his support to the campaign for more EU-wide action on Alzheimer´s.
"I called him because I knew he was interested in the issue and, though he said he could not personally attend the hearing, he was more than happy to send a video message of support," said the European United Left deputy.
She says there needs to be a "better understanding" of Alzheimer's which she described as the "forgotten" disease.
"At present, there is a very fragmented approach to tackling it. We need to improve access to treatment for patients with this disease because, at present, this differs widely from one member state to another."
Award-winning French actress Tsilla Chelton, who was due to attend the hearing, was unable to travel to Brussels due to sickness.
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