Europeans are plagued by mental and neurological illnesses, with
almost 165 million people or 38 percent of the population
suffering each year from a brain disorder such as depression,
anxiety, insomnia or dementia, according to a large new study.
With only about a third of cases receiving the therapy or
medication needed, mental illnesses cause a huge economic and
social burden -- measured in the hundreds of billions of euros
-- as sufferers become too unwell to work and personal
relationships break down. "Mental disorders have become Europe's
largest health challenge of the 21st century," the study's
authors said. At the same time, some big drug companies are
backing away from investment in research on how the brain works
and affects behavior, putting the onus on governments and health
charities to stump up funding for neuroscience. "The immense
treatment gap ... for mental disorders has to be closed," said
Hans Ulrich Wittchen, director of the institute of clinical
psychology and psychotherapy at Germany's