Dementia and COVID-19: a health and research funding crisis
Authors: Liesbeth Aerts, Elsa Lauwers, Bart De Strooper
Journal: The Lancet Neurology (2021)

Neurological research is at a turning point. Emerging technological advances offer opportunities to understand brain function in health and disease in a way no one could have even dreamed of 5 years ago. With these advances, combined with new methods of targeting the brain with antisense therapy or therapeutic antibodies, we stand on the verge of breakthroughs in treating neurological diseases. Similar to our colleagues working in many other disease areas, we share a vision of how technological advances should be integrated and deployed to understand, predict, diagnose, and treat neurological diseases. However, your Editorial1The Lancet NeurologyNeglect during a crisis: the stark reality.Lancet Neurol. 2020; 19: 879Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar outlined the stark reality that we currently face, with the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affecting people living with dementia. In addition to the acute health and care crisis, we are facing a second crisis of dwindling research investments. Sadly, there is an intolerable disconnect between the ever-growing socioeconomic need for effective therapies for brain disorders, and the lack of ambition and long-term vision of European Union (EU) leaders. In January, 2021 the new Horizon Europe framework programme will be launched, but the budgets have been cut substantially during negotiations in the wake of the pandemic. The European Commission now looks at national governments to increase spending on research and development, evading its own responsibilities. Europe is internationally applauded for the quality of its bottom-up, innovative research, and its coordinated, transparent, and open research programmes, but all of these achievements are now at risk. We are urging EU and national leaders to intensify their support for blue sky research, notably via the European Research Council, and provide large-scale, coherent funding to support integrated research roadmaps, such as those established by LifeTime2Rajewsky N Almouzni G Gorski SA et al.LifeTime and improving European healthcare through cell-based interceptive medicine.Nature. 2020; 587: 377-386Crossref PubMed Scopus (87) Google Scholar or the NEURON network.3ERA-NET NEURON Strategic research agenda: taking on the challenges of nervous system disorders 2021-2025.https://www.neuron-eranet.eu/_media/SRA_FINAL.pdfDate: 2020Date accessed: December 10, 2020Google Scholar This approach is the only way we will ever have an impact on areas of huge unmet medical need, such as neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases. Now is the time to be ambitious. The neuroscience community is ready to take this challenge on. There is enthusiasm, support from patients and caregiver organisations, a broad scientific consensus on research priorities, and a unique momentum around large, multidisciplinary initiatives. Huge strides in early risk assessment, prevention, early diagnosis, and effective therapies are within reach if we invest funds and direct research efforts appropriately. We stand to lose so much if we do not act now. We declare no competing interests. LA and EL are joint first authors. Neglect during a crisis: the stark realityThe effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on people with dementia is being increasingly recognised, but perhaps not fully appreciated by health-care planners and policy makers. A regularly updated report entitled Impact of COVID-19 on people with dementia, by the International Long-term Care Policy Network (ILCPN), highlights the high death rates among people with dementia worldwide. The report update on Aug 19, 2020, showed that, of deaths linked to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in care homes, 29% to 75% occurred in people with dementia across Australia, Brazil, India, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Full-Text PDF Neurological burden and European investment: a disconnectThe European Commission reached a political agreement on the funding dedicated to Horizon Europe , its transnational research programme, on Dec 11, 2020. A few days later the budget was approved by the European Parliament, which released the news with enthusiasm. But for a wealthy continent immersed in an appalling health crisis, dedicating just around €95·5 billion over the next 7 years to its major research-funding instrument does not seem a reason for exultation. This funding is an irresponsible betrayal of trust in the biomedical community, whose ability to provide life-saving solutions is being clearly demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic ; while the health crisis is not yet over, political leaders have decided to push crucial biomedical investment down their priority list and widen the gap of research funding between the USA and Europe—a gap that is negligently stretched for neurological research. Full-Text PDF