Adnkronos Rome, October 14 (Adnkronos Salute) – Neurological diseases represent one of the major global health challenges. With over 3,4 billion cases and approximately 11,8 million deaths each year, nervous system diseases are now the leading cause of disability worldwide. This is highlighted by the Global Status Report on Neurology 2025, the first global report entirely dedicated to the health systems response to neurological diseases, presented yesterday by the World Health Organization (WHO) at the World Neurological Congress (WCN).
The document was developed as part of the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders 2022–2031.
The report highlights marked inequalities among countries in addressing neurological diseases. In high-income countries, there are an average of nine neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants, while in low-income countries, the availability drops dramatically to less than one neurologist per 100,000 inhabitants. This disparity is compounded by limited planning and monitoring capacity: only 39% of countries have dedicated national strategies, and just 15% collect epidemiological data systematically. In Europe, too, the picture is alarming: the burden of neurological diseases exceeds 90 million DALYs (years of life lost due to disability and mortality), with an overall economic impact estimated at over €900 billion per year.
To address this global crisis, the WHO has identified several key priorities: strengthening health governance, ensuring equitable access to care, training and deploying a qualified healthcare workforce, promoting brain health, and intensifying scientific research efforts. In this regard, the Italian Neurological Society (SIN) has outlined a strategy for the 2025–2035 decade, consistent with WHO recommendations. The proposal, the scientific society states in a statement, includes: developing a community-based and digital neurology, aiming to strengthen the local network and promote teleneurology, also thanks to investments from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
This is accompanied by a call for integrated national governance, through the creation of a Steering Committee involving the Ministry of Health, the regional agency Agenas, the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR), and the SIN itself, with the aim of planning needs and specialized training. Finally, a central role is assigned to research and innovation, promoting precision medicine, the use of big data, and building public-private partnerships.
As the WHO report highlights, neurological care in Italy is intermediate compared to the international context. Our country boasts a scientifically advanced neurology system, with high levels of clinical expertise and research, but it still faces significant regional inequalities in access to services. Currently, approximately 7,000 neurologists work there, fewer than 3,000 of whom are within the National Health Service (SSN). The average density is approximately five public neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants, but this presence is unevenly distributed: the most marked shortages are found outside of large urban centers, particularly in rural, mountainous, and island areas, where access to neurological care is often inadequate.
The most severe neurological diseases affect over 3 million people in Italy, generating an estimated economic cost of over €20 billion annually. However, if all chronic diseases affecting the nervous system are included, they affect approximately 1 in 3 Italians, confirming the growing burden of these disorders on public health and the sustainability of the healthcare system. In this context, "the Italian Brain Health Strategy 2024–2031, promoted by the Sin and approved by the Ministry of Health, is based on the One Brain – One Health principle, recognizing that brain health is the primary infrastructure of human health," states Alessandro Padovani, President of the Sin. "It proposes a national and international alliance involving neurologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, general practitioners, institutions, schools, and citizens in promoting brain health throughout life. The brain is the primary infrastructure of health. Protecting it means investing in the future, dignity, and cohesion of the country."