Loma Linda University Health neurosurgeons told a group of state officials and lawmakers that the impact of treating neurological disorders in the state of California is increasing, and they stressed the imperative need to invest in innovative treatments.
Warren Boling, MD, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Loma Linda University Health, and Venkatraman Sadanand, MD, PhD, associate professor at Loma Linda University School of Medicine and attending pediatric neurosurgeon, made their remarks to the California State Assembly on Aug. 7. The two were among 12 presenters at the Brain Mapping Day held at the State Capitol in Sacramento.
Boling and Sadanand highlighted the economic risks for treating neurological disorders, including epilepsy, Parkinson’s and dementia.
According to Sadanand, the prevalence of Parkinson’s disease is expected to increase two times over the next 12 years, while dementia is expected to increase three times over the next 30 years. In the last 25 years, a 37 percent increase in the number of deaths has occurred in individuals living with a neurological disease. It’s the highest increase in any group of diseases, Sadanand said.
According to Boling, there are approximately 140,000 individuals living with intractable epilepsy in the state of California alone. The economic burden of intractable epilepsy in California is $1.2 billion annually, according to CE Begley’s “The Direct Cost of Epilepsy in the United States” (Epilepsia, 2015).
Despite 16 different FDA-approved medications to treat patients with epilepsy, over 30 percent of patients will continue living with frequent seizures, Boling said. The goal is to better define the seizure focus as a way to open more opportunities for a cure. Both physicians urged the State Assembly to analyze the data presented and invest in new treatments.
Loma Linda University Health representatives have participated in previous Brain Mapping Days on the national level. Boling presented at Brain Mapping Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., last year. In March, Sadanand and Daniel J. DiLorenzo, MD, PhD, MBA, assistant professor at LLU School of Medicine, presented at this year’s Brain Mapping Day in Washington, D.C.