Activities of Marina YANNAKOUDAKIS related to 2010/2084(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
European initiative on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias - Asthma inhalers (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT Report on a European initiative on Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias PDF (190 KB) DOC (119 KB)
Amendments (17)
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas it is estimated that 35.6 million people worldwide will be living with dementia in 2010 – and that this number is estimated to nearly double every 20 years, to 65.7 million in 2030, whereas the number of sufferers of Alzheimer's Disease is underestimated due to difficulties in diagnosis,
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the number of people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases in Europe is estimated to be 8.6 million, with Alzheimer's accounting for the vast majority of those cases; whereas neurodegenerative diseasesthe number of people affected by Alzheimer's almost trebles when taking into account the number of informal carers of patients with dementia, whereas neurodegenerative diseases can affect people of all ages but represents one of the main causes of disability in the elderly, and whereas the number of people suffering from these diseases is expected to rise dramatically by 2020, owing to increased life expectancy and a decreasing ratio of working to retired populations,
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the population of Europe is ageing, with persons aged over 80 constituting the fastest-growing cohort in most European countries, and whereas dementia is therefore expected to be one of the main challenges for healthcare systems, including informal care and long-term care facilities, and social care and security systems in the coming decades,
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the total direct and informal care costs of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in 2005 amounted to EUR 130 billion for the EU 27 region, or approximately EUR 21 000 per year per person affected by dementia (56% of the costs being generated by informal care2 ), early diagnosis may help to manage healthcare costs across Europe,
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the bulk of the research effort in this field is carried out by Member States, with a relatively low level of transnational coordination, leading to fragmentation and limited sharing of knowledge and best practice among Member States, and whereas research for Alzheimer's Disease is lagging behind research of other major diseases in Europe,
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas there is a growing awareness that the impact of neurodegenerative diseases on the population in Europe is of such a magnitude that no Member State is capable of resolving it alone; whereas it is therefore necessary in the EUfor Member States to significantly strengthen cooperation and coordination of research efforts and the level of financial investment in this areainformation sharing, in order to combat neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's, which is a major challenge for European societies,
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas, although social awareness and scientific knowledge of Alzheimer's disease have increased dramatically in the past 20 years, therapeutic options are still limited to symptomatic drugs, and diagnosis is still largely based on individual physician experience and subjective judgement, and whereas the diagnosis of Alzheimer's often takes place years after the onset of the disease, thus delaying any possible treatment to slow down the disease,
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H f (new)
Recital H f (new)
H f. Whereas a greater focus on the pre- dementia phase of Alzheimer's disease could contribute to supporting the development of appropriate therapeutic interventions capable of slowing down the disease's progression, and ultimately delaying patients' entry into severe Alzheimer's, i.e. the most debilitating form of the disease,
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Encourages Member States to ensure that drugs able to slow the onset of Alzheimer's are made available to all patients suffering from the disease and not only patients who are diagnosed with severe cases of Alzheimer's.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Encourages all Member States to consider adopting the latest and best practice in the United States, whereby brain scans and other tests are used to distinguish patients according to three distinct groups of cognitive impairment, in order to best establish which form of treatment may be most effective to treat each stage of the disease.
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 e (new)
Paragraph 5 e (new)
5 e. Stresses the importance of prevention of Alzheimer's disease by encouraging a healthy lifestyle, including staying mentally and socially engaged, promoting good diets and exercising,
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points to the importance of research into the connection between the ageing process and dementia and between dementia and depression in the elderly; encourages the Member States, furthermore, to promote research programmes that give great importance to patient choice and perspective; and to formulate recommendations centred on the core principles of dignity and social inclusion, thereby promoting the autonomy and self determination of people with dementia,
Amendment 143 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the CommissionMember States to draw up guidelines for the training of staff who work in whatever capacity with Alzheimer's patients (medical and paramedical professions), and for the training of family carers to ensure competent and effective use of the existing resources;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Encourages Member States to consider the 'dementia dimension' in flexible work policies to assist informal carers of patients of Alzheimer's,
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Calls on Member States to consider opportunities offered by the EU 2020 strategies 'A new jobs agenda' and 'New skills for new jobs' to strengthen the future workforce capacity related to looking after people suffering from Alzheimer's and other types of dementia; new skill-specific jobs need to be promoted across Europe to look after an increasingly dependent ageing population,
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 b (new)
Paragraph 10 b (new)
10 b. Encourages Member States to consider reducing the use of antipsychotic medication in their action plans to aid Alzheimer's sufferers, given that while these drugs are currently commonly prescribed to combat the effects of dementia, their beneficial effect has been shown to be limited, and they have moreover contributed to excess deaths every year as a result of their prescription;