OncologyEPDA Life With Parkinson's Campaign Launches In Ten Languages To Improve Knowledge Of Parkinson's Disease Across Europe
The European Parkinson"s Disease Association (EPDA) announces
the launch today of multiple language versions of its pan-European awareness
campaign, Life with Parkinson"s at the International Congress of Parkinson"s
Disease and Movement Disorders. The campaign is designed to improve
understanding of all aspects of Parkinson"s among a wide range of audiences
including people with Parkinson"s, their families and friends, healthcare
professionals and policy makers, so that symptoms are recognised and medical
advice is sought as early as possible. The information materials are now
available in English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Romanian.
Spanish, Swedish and Turkish and EPDA hopes to make the information available
in further languages in the near future.
A recent survey of over 5,000 members of the general public
from across Europe has highlighted why the Life with Parkinson"s campaign is
sorely needed. Supported by a Teva Pharmaceuticals Limited and H. Lundbeck
A/S, the results of the survey paint a troubling picture of the lack of
knowledge and understanding of Parkinson"s. Over half of Europeans did not
correctly identify Parkinson"s as a neurological condition that affects
movement and 77% did not recognise the inability to move - one of the
cardinal symptoms - as being a problem for people with of Parkinson"s.
Comments Susanna Lindvall, vice president of EPDA,
"Parkinson"s is a life changing condition with a huge cost burden, so it is
important that the general public are aware of Parkinson"s and the symptoms
associated with it. A recent clinical trial showed that people who received
early treatment with one particular Parkinson"s medicine showed slower
progression of their disease. This only emphasises the importance of being
able to recognise the symptoms of Parkinson"s at an early stage.
Life with Parkinson"s focuses on the challenges of living with
Parkinson"s, illustrating the economic and social burden in the late stages,
the impact on people with Parkinson"s, their families, carers and society as
a whole. A new section also highlights the importance of early diagnosis and
treatment to delay the progression of the disease and to prolong good quality
of life.
"Parkinson"s is more than a movement disorder. It affects
every aspect of daily living of not only the people with the condition, but
also their families and friends. It challenges their mood, their work, their
finance and their leisure time, resulting in less participation in social
activities that can lead to the threat of isolation" remarked Mary G. Baker,
MBE, Patron, European Parkinson"s Disease Association.
However, the survey revealed that 91% of people do not think
that they would feel isolated with Parkinson"s, despite the proven physical
and psychological effects it has on relationships, independence and quality
of life.
Parkinson"s is the second most common degenerative disorder of
the central nervous system that often impairs the patient"s motor skills and
speech. In 2007 there were approximately 1.45 million people with Parkinson"s
across US, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK and the number of
people affected is set to rise as the population ages.
Parkinson"s is both a chronic and progressive illness, which
results in a marked decrease in the health-related quality of life of people
with Parkinson"s and their carers and places a tremendous economic burden on
society.
For more information about this campaign please go to
http://www.parkinsonsawareness.eu.com
Notes
For further media res, please visit our
Social Media Release site.
For broadcast-standard video supporting this press release, please visit
http://www.thenewsmarket.com/Lundbeck. If you are a first-time user, please take a
moment to register. In case you have any questions, please email
journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com.
About the survey
Survey carried out by ICM research, April 2009. Commissioned
by H. Lundbeck A/S and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited in association
with the EPDA.
Development of Life with Parkinson"s has been supported by a
number of companies and organisations. The section on "Diagnosis and
Treatment" and translation into multiple languages has been supported by an
educational grant from H. Lundbeck A/S and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries
Limited.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NASDAQ: TEVA),
headquartered in Israel, is among the top 20 pharmaceutical companies in the
world and is the leading generic pharmaceutical company. It develops,
manufactures and markets generic and innovative human pharmaceuticals and
active pharmaceutical ingredients. Over 80 percent of Teva"s sales are in
North America and Western Europe. Teva"s innovative R&D focuses on developing
novel drugs for diseases of the central nervous system.
H. Lundbeck A/S (LUN.CO, LUN DC, HLUKY) is an international
pharmaceutical company highly committed to improve the quality of life for
people suffering from central nervous system (CNS) disorders. For this
purpose Lundbeck is engaged in the research and development, production,
marketing and sale of pharmaceuticals across the world, targeted at disorders
like depression and anxiety, schizophrenia, insomnia, Huntington"s,
Alzheimer"s and Parkinson"s diseases.
Lundbeck was founded in 1915 by Hans Lundbeck in Copenhagen,
Denmark, and today employs over 5.500 people worldwide. Lundbeck is one of
the world"s leading pharmaceutical companies working with CNS disorders. In
2008, the company"s revenue was DKK 11.3 billion (approximately EUR 1.5
billion or USD 2.2 billion).
For more information, please visit: http://www.lundbeck.com.
European Parkinson"s Disease Association (EPDA)