Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Mental Disorders Are Disorders Of The Brain

Depression, anxiety disorders such as panic disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorders, alcohol and drug dependence, dementia and Parkinson's disease are just a few examples of "disorders of the brain."

The size, the burden and cost of brain disorders in the EU is immense, and has so far been underestimated," as Prof. Dr. Hans Ulrich Wittchen emphasized at the Official Press Conference to the 20th ECNP Congress for Neuropsychopharmacology in Vienna (October 13-17, 2007).

Increasing Lifetime Risk -- Unmet Needs

Mental disorders such as anxiety and depressive disorders are disorders of the brain and involve complex patterns of disturbances of cognition (such as perception, attention, memory), affect and emotion (such as depressed mood, panic), somatic functioning (e.g. appetite, heart rate variability) and behaviour. These patterns and disturbances are all associated with disturbances in the transmitter systems of the brain and the central nervous system. What is special about most mental disorders is that they predominantly manifest early in life, before the age of 20. They are also associated across the life span with a high risk of developing complications and other -- so called comorbid -- disorders.

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