78 organisations call for urgent investment in neurological research for #BrainAwarenessWeek
This Brain Awareness Week (10-16th March) we are joining the Neurological Alliances of England, Wales and Northern Ireland to raise awareness of the critical need for more research on neurological conditions and calling on the UK Government to #InvestInNeuroResearch.
We have sent an open letter to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Rt Hon Peter Kyle MP, endorsed by 74 member organisations and the four UK Alliances, calling for greater investment into research on neurological conditions. With the UK Government’s current plans for research expansion, we believe neurological conditions should be a priority in these developments. You can read the open letter here.
Facts and figures
A shocking new study shows that neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill health worldwide. Conditions such as epilepsy, dementia, Parkinson’s, and Motor Neurone Disease are just some of the 600+ neurological conditions that impact millions of people across the UK. Despite at least 1 in 6 people living with a neurological condition, there is severely limited research on these life altering conditions. The latest figures show that neurological research received just 8.9% of the UK’s total health research expenditure (2022). Researchers working on transformative projects face losing their jobs due to insecure funding, clinical trials are limited in their number, and short funding cycles make sustained research challenging. This leaves countless people feeling lost, with little known about what causes their condition or what possible treatments, interventions or methods for managing their condition might be available.
This has to change.
Throughout Brain Awareness Week, we will be showcasing the different voices, lives and work impacted by research. Hearing from people living with neurological conditions and researchers working to understand these conditions, a powerful series of videos will be released illustrating the importance of prioritising research into these complex and life altering conditions.
Speaking on behalf of the UK Alliances, Hester Lee, Programme Co-ordinator of the Neurological Alliance of Scotland says “Neurological conditions can affect anyone, at any age, and at any time, yet there is still such a limited understanding of how these conditions impact people. This directly affects the availability and quality of treatment, care and support people with neurological conditions receive.
To raise awareness of the critical need for more research into neurological conditions, we are sharing videos throughout Brain Awareness Week from people who live with neurological conditions, people who participate in research studies, and researchers from across the UK who work in neurological research. We are doing this to demonstrate the huge and often unrealised potential of research to transform lives, and to call on the UK Government to prioritise investment into neurological condition research in their new research initiatives.
We hope that you will join us throughout the week to raise awareness about the critical need for more research on neurological conditions by using the hashtag #InvestInNeuroResearch and following our campaign on our social media channels.”
“Every one in six people has a neurological condition or disorder. Look around you, I guarantee you that someone you know will at some point develop a neurological condition. You may already know someone. Right now in the UK, there is no way of knowing who and in some cases why this happens. We just know that it will happen to some of us. We also don’t know when it’s going to happen. We don’t know what medications, if any, will manage the symptoms, and some like me will never live symptom free. And again, some of us will live life navigating more than one neurological condition.
If we invest in research to find less evasive treatments, safer and more effective medications, and genetic biomarkers to help us identify those at risk of developing neurological conditions, and we also invest in the professionals treating those of us with neurological conditions, then we have the potential to improve the outcomes of the lives of people like me. But if that hasn’t been enough to convince you, then listen to what other people with neurological conditions have to say.”
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