Institute of Molecular Life Sciences and Neuroscience, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Eur J Neurosci. 2012 Jun;35(12):1811-7. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-9568.2012.08171.x.
In a recently published report, the European Brain Council estimated that the annual cost of brain disorders is larger than the cost of all other disease areas combined, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and diabetes. The World Health Organization concluded that approximately one-third of the total burden of disease in Europe is attributable to brain disorders. Therefore, drug development for neural diseases should flourish and attract large pharmaceutical companies and smaller enterprises alike. However, this is far from being the case: industry is cutting down on research and investment in brain disorders in Europe. Political reasons may be contributing to this, but they do not constitute the only explanation. An important reason for the decreasing interest and investment is the lack of drug targets in neural diseases. In order to change this, greater efforts at understanding the etiologies and pathogenetic mechanisms of disorders of both the developing and the adult brain are required. We need to strengthen basic research to understand the brain in health and disease. A shift from translational to basic research is required to meet the need for drugs and therapies in the future. In support of this, I summarize some recent studies indicating that the developing brain has much to offer in this respect. The processes and genes involved in brain development are linked to the etiologies not only of neurodevelopmental but also of neurodegenerative diseases.
在最近发表的一份报告中，欧洲脑理事会估计，脑疾病的年成本高于包括心血管疾病、癌症和糖尿病在内的所有其他疾病领域的总和。世界卫生组织得出结论，欧洲总疾病负担的大约三分之一归因于脑疾病。因此，神经疾病的药物开发应该蓬勃发展，吸引大型制药公司和小型企业。然而，事实远非如此：业界正在削减欧洲脑疾病的研究和投资。政治原因可能对此有所贡献，但它们并不是唯一的解释。对神经疾病的兴趣和投资减少的一个重要原因是缺乏药物靶点。为了改变这种状况，需要加大对发育中大脑和成人大脑疾病病因和发病机制的理解。我们需要加强基础研究，以了解健康和疾病中的大脑。为了满足未来对药物和疗法的需求，需要从转化研究转向基础研究。为了支持这一点，我总结了一些最近的研究，表明发育中的大脑在这方面有很多优势。涉及大脑发育的过程和基因与神经发育性疾病以及神经退行性疾病的病因有关。
